Hemoglobin degradation in Plasmodium-infected red blood cells.
Intraerythrocytic malaria parasites (Plasmodia) degrade enormous amounts of hemoglobin during a short period of their life cycle. The process involves ingestion of red blood cell cytoplasm through the cytostome, delivery to acidic digestive vacuoles and sequential, efficient proteolysis by a set of specific hydrolases. Amino acids are generated for the growth and maturation of the organism; the heme byproduct is sequestered into a crystalline lattice called hemozoin. These specialized functions makes the digestive vacuole a prime target for antimalarial chemotherapy.
Goldberg
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Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO.
D000818:Animals; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000201:enzymology
D006454:Hemoglobins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases