Eukaryotic Cell 2003-10-01

Neutral-lipid analysis reveals elevation of acylglycerols and lack of cholesterol esters in Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes.

Parwez Nawabi, Athanasios Lykidis, Darder Ji, Kasturi Haldar

Index: Eukaryotic Cell 2(5) , 1128-31, (2003)

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Abstract

Here we show that blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum organisms accumulate a high mass of triacylglycerol and diacylglycerol. However, we failed to detect cholesterol esters, a second neutral lipid species reported to be important for a related apicomplexan, Toxoplasma gondii. Evidence for P. falciparum and T. gondii homologues of acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase suggests that acylglycerols may be the conserved neutral lipids in apicomplexans.