title: cDNA cloning of a novel cysteine protease of Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: The cDNA for a novel Plasmodium cysteine protease (falcipain-2) has been isolated from a Plasmodium falciparum cDNA library. A 602 bp fragment was amplified from P. falciparum by PCR using degenerate oligonucleotide primers. The primers were designed based upon the amino acids flanking the active site cysteine and asparagine residues that are conserved in the eukaryotic cysteine proteases. This fragment was used to screen a P. falciparum cDNA library and isolated a 2.1 kb clone that encoded a novel cysteine protease. The sequence of the 2.1 kb clone predicted a 56 kDa protein containing a typical signal sequence, a prosequence and a 24.7 kDa mature protease with 37% identity to falcipain-1, a hemoglobin-degrading cysteine protease of P. falciparum. Northern blot analysis detected a 2.1 kb message in trophozoites. Taken together, we have isolated a novel cysteine protease of P. falciparum, which may play an important role at the late stages of the erythrocytic cycle of the parasite.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology Research, ACH 406, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, 02135, Boston, MA, USA. mhanspal@semc.org
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hanspal
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015723:Gene Library; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; C416224:falcipain 2