title: RAP1 controls rhoptry targeting of RAP2 in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: Rhoptry associated protein 1 (RAP1) and 2 (RAP2), together with a poorly described third protein RAP3, form the low molecular weight complex within the rhoptries of Plasmodium falciparum. These proteins are thought to play a role in erythrocyte invasion by the extracellular merozoite and are important vaccine candidates. We used gene-targeting technology in P.falciparum blood-stage parasites to disrupt the RAP1 gene, producing parasites that express severely truncated forms of RAP1. Immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that truncated RAP1 species did not complex with RAP2 and RAP3. Consistent with this were the distinct subcellular localizations of RAP1 and 2 in disrupted RAP1 parasites, where RAP2 does not traffic to the rhoptries but is instead located in a compartment that appears related to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. These results suggest that RAP1 is required to localize RAP2 to the rhoptries, supporting the hypothesis that rhoptry biogenesis is dependent in part on the secretory pathway in the parasite. The observation that apparently host-protective merozoite antigens are not essential for efficient erythrocyte invasion has important implications for vaccine design.
authors.affiliation: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne 3050, Australia.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Baldi
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Crabb
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Cowman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D018390:Gene Targeting; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D015388:Organelles / Q000378:metabolism; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000737:chemistry; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; C065352:rhoptry associated protein, Plasmodium; C073168:rhoptry-associated antigen-2, Plasmodium