Fate of haem iron in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
Chemical analysis has shown that Plasmodium falciparum trophozoites contain 61+/-2% of the iron within parasitized erythrocytes, of which 92+/-6% is located within the food vacuole. Of this, 88+/-9% is in the form of haemozoin. (57)Fe-Mössbauer spectroscopy shows that haemozoin is the only detectable iron species in trophozoites. Electron spectroscopic imaging confirms this conclusion.
Egan
Timothy J
TJ
Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa. tegan@science.uct.ac.za
Combrinck
Jill M
JM
Egan
Joanne
J
Hearne
Giovanni R
GR
Marques
Helder M
HM
Ntenteni
Skhumbuzo
S
Sewell
B Trevor
BT
Smith
Peter J
PJ
Taylor
Dale
D
van Schalkwyk
Donelly A
DA
Walden
Jason C
JC
D000818:Animals; D006418:Heme / Q000378:metabolism*; D006420:Hemeproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000378:metabolism*; D015204:Spectroscopy, Mossbauer
D006420:Hemeproteins; C020753:hemozoin; D006418:Heme; D007501:Iron