title: Proteomic analysis of microparticles isolated from malaria positive blood samples.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malaria continues to be a great public health concern due to the significant mortality and morbidity associated with the disease especially in developing countries. Microparticles (MPs), also called plasma membrane derived extracellular vesicles (PMEVs) are subcellular structures that are generated when they bud off the plasma membrane. They can be found in healthy individuals but the numbers tend to increase in pathological conditions including malaria. Although, various studies have been carried out on the protein content of specific cellular derived MPs, there seems to be paucity of information on the protein content of circulating MPs in malaria and their association with the various signs and symptoms of the disease. The aim of this study was therefore to carry out proteomic analyses of MPs isolated from malaria positive samples and compare them with proteins of MPs from malaria parasite culture supernatant and healthy controls in order to ascertain the role of MPs in malaria infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma samples were obtained from forty-three (43) malaria diagnosed patients (cases) and ten (10) healthy individuals (controls). Malaria parasite culture supernatant was obtained from our laboratory and MPs were isolated from them and confirmed using flow cytometry. 2D LC-MS was done to obtain their protein content. Resultant data were analyzed using SPSS Ver. 21.0 statistical software, Kruskal Wallis test and Spearman's correlation coefficientr.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 1806 proteins were isolated from the samples. The MPs from malaria positive samples recorded 1729 proteins, those from culture supernatant were 333 while the control samples recorded 234 proteins. The mean number of proteins in MPs of malaria positive samples was significantly higher than that in the control samples. Significantly, higher quantities of haemoglobin subunits were seen in MPs from malaria samples and culture supernatant compared to control samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A great number of proteins were observed to be carried in the microparticles (MPs) from malaria samples and culture supernatant compared to controls. The greater loss of haemoglobin from erythrocytes via MPs from malaria patients could serve as the initiation and progression of anaemia inP.falciparuminfection. Also while some proteins were upregulated in circulating MPs in malaria samples, others were down regulated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box KB 143, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antwi-Baffour
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box KB 143, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.|Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Jonathan Kofi
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Adjei
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Agyemang-Yeboah
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Annani-Akollor
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box KB 143, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Ransford
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kyeremeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box KB 143, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: George Awuku
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Asare
authors.affiliation: Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gyan
keywords: Malaria; Microparticles; Plasma membrane; Plasmodium; Proteomics