title: Calcium signalling in malaria parasites.
abstract: Ca(2+) is a ubiquitous intracellular messenger in malaria parasites with important functions in asexual blood stages responsible for malaria symptoms, the preceding liver-stage infection and transmission through the mosquito. Intracellular messengers amplify signals by binding to effector molecules that trigger physiological changes. The characterisation of some Ca(2+) effector proteins has begun to provide insights into the vast range of biological processes controlled by Ca(2+) signalling in malaria parasites, including host cell egress and invasion, protein secretion, motility and cell cycle regulation. Despite the importance of Ca(2+) signalling during the life cycle of malaria parasites, little is known about Ca(2+) homeostasis. Recent findings highlighted that upstream of stage-specific Ca(2+) effectors is a conserved interplay between second messengers to control critical intracellular Ca(2+) signals throughout the life cycle. The identification of the molecular mechanisms integrating stage-transcending mechanisms of Ca(2+) homeostasis in a network of stage-specific regulator and effector pathways now represents a major challenge for a meaningful understanding of Ca(2+) signalling in malaria parasites.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.|UMR5235 CNRS-Université Montpellier 2, 34095, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brochet
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Malaria Programme, CB10 1SA, Hinxton, UK.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Billker
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000469:parasitology; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D002118:Calcium