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Glycosylphosphatidylinositols in Malaria: GPI Biosynthesis and GPI-Derived Proteins

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Malaria

Synonyms

Glycophospholipid; Glycosylphosphatidylinositols; GPI; Malaria toxin

Definitions

Glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) are complex biomolecules containing carbohydrates, lipids, and phosphates that are attached to the C-terminus of proteins as a posttranslational modification in eukaryotes. GPIs are the major carbohydrate modification on the cell surface of Plasmodium falciparum and of crucial parasite membrane proteins. These glycolipids are known to contribute enormously to the pathogenicity of the parasite and affect the severity of the clinical symptoms of malaria. Additionally, the GPIs of P. falciparum contain some unique modifications that involve specific enzymatic steps in their biosynthesis and are ideal targets for the development of antimalarial drugs.

GPIs: General Introduction

Membrane proteins can be linked to the cell membrane as peripheral proteins that are temporarily associated with the membrane or as integral proteins that are linked through a hydrophobic...

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Abbreviations

GlcN:

Glucosamine

GPI:

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol

GPI-APs:

GPI-anchored proteins

IL:

Interleukin

Ino:

Myo-Inositol

Man:

Mannose

PEtN:

Phosphoethanolamine

PGA-P1:

Post GPI addition protein-1

PI:

Phosphatidylinositol

PIG A-W:

Phosphatidylinositol glycosyltransferase

PTM:

Posttranslational modification

VSG:

Variant surface glycoprotein

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany and Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 22, Berlin, 14195, Germany

    Reka Kurucz, Peter H. Seeberger & Daniel Varón Silva

Authors
  1. Reka Kurucz
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  2. Peter H. Seeberger
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  3. Daniel Varón Silva
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Varón Silva .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Heswall, United Kingdom

    Marcel Hommel

  2. Institut für Tropenmedizin, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Peter G. Kremsner

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Kurucz, R., Seeberger, P.H., Varón Silva, D. (2013). Glycosylphosphatidylinositols in Malaria: GPI Biosynthesis and GPI-Derived Proteins. In: Hommel, M., Kremsner, P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Malaria. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8757-9_22-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8757-9_22-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8757-9

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