Transition of Plasmodium Sporozoites into Liver Stage- Like Forms Is Regulated by the RNA Binding Protein Pumilio

• Autor(a) principal: Gomes-Santos, Carina S. S.
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Braks, Joanna, Prudêncio, Miguel, Carret, Céline, Gomes, Ana Rita, Pain, Arnab, Feltwell, Theresa, Khan, Shahid, Waters, Andrew, Janse, Chris, Mair, Gunnar R., Mota, Maria M.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/15539; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1002046

Many eukaryotic developmental and cell fate decisions that are effected post-transcriptionally involve RNA binding proteins as regulators of translation of key mRNAs. In malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.), the development of round, non-motile and replicating exo-erythrocytic liver stage forms from slender, motile and cell-cycle arrested sporozoites is believed to depend on environmental changes experienced during the transmission of the parasite from the mosquito vector to the vertebrate host. Here we identify a Plasmodium member of the RNA binding protein family PUF as a key regulator of this transformation. In the absence of Pumilio-2 (Puf2) sporozoites initiate EEF development inside mosquito salivary glands independently of the normal transmission-associated environmental cues. Puf2- sporozoites exhibit genome-wide transcriptional changes that result in loss of gliding motility, cell traversal ability and reduction in infectivity, and, moreover, trigger metamorphosis typical of early Plasmodium intra-hepatic development. These data demonstrate that Puf2 is a key player in regulating sporozoite developmental control, and imply that transformation of salivary gland-resident sporozoites into liver stage-like parasites is regulated by a post-transcriptional mechanism.