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Actin/Myosin-Based Gliding Motility in Apicomplexan Parasites

  • Chapter
Molecular Mechanisms of Parasite Invasion

Part of the book series: Subcellular Biochemistry ((SCBI,volume 47))

Abstract

Apicomplexan parasites move and actively enter host cells by substrate-dependent gliding motility, an unusual form of eukaryotic locomotion that differs fundamentally from the motility of prokaryotic and viral pathogens. Recent research has uncovered some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying parasite motility, transmigration, and cell invasion during life cycle progression. The gliding motor machinery is embedded between the plasma membrane and the inner membrane complex, a unique double membrane layer. It consists of immobilized unconventional myosins, short actin stubs, and TRAP-family invasins. Assembly of this motor machinery enables force generation between parasite cytoskeletal components and an extracellular substratum. Unique properties of the individual components suggest that the rational design of motility inhibitors may lead to new intervention strategies to combat some of the most devastating human and livestock diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, Heidelberg University School of Medicine, Heidelberg, Germany

    Kai Matuschewski

  2. Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13092, Berlin, Germany

    Herwig Schüler

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  1. Kai Matuschewski
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  2. Herwig Schüler
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Correspondence to Herwig Schüler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Barbara A. Burleigh PhD

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College, London, UK

    Dominique Soldati-Favre PhD

  3. Département de Microbiologie et Medecine Moléculaire, Université de Genève, Geneve, Switzerland

    Dominique Soldati-Favre PhD

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Matuschewski, K., Schüler, H. (2008). Actin/Myosin-Based Gliding Motility in Apicomplexan Parasites. In: Burleigh, B.A., Soldati-Favre, D. (eds) Molecular Mechanisms of Parasite Invasion. Subcellular Biochemistry, vol 47. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78267-6_9

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