Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is an integral cell-surface membrane glycoprotein that is overexpressed in prostate carcinomas rendering it an appropriate target for antibody-based therapeutic strategies. The biosynthesis of PSMA in transfected COS-1 cells reveals a slow conversion of mannose-rich to complex glycosylated PSMA compatible with slow transport kinetics from the endoplasmi...

The intraerythrocytic apicomplexan Babesia microti, the primary causative agent of human babesiosis, is a major public health concern in the United States and elsewhere. Apicomplexans utilize a multiprotein complex that includes a type I membrane protein called apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) to invade host cells. We have isolated the full-length B. microti AMA1 (BmAMA1) gene and determined it...

Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) is considered one of the leading candidates for inclusion in a vaccine against blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum. Although the ama1 gene is relatively conserved compared to those for some other potential vaccine components, numerous point mutations have resulted in amino acid substitutions at many sites in the polypeptide. The polymorphisms in AMA1 have been...

Apicomplexan parasites are the causative agents of globally prevalent diseases including malaria and toxoplasmosis. These obligate intracellular pathogens have evolved a sophisticated host cell invasion strategy that relies on a parasite-host cell junction anchored by interactions between apical membrane antigens (AMAs) on the parasite surface and rhoptry neck 2 (RON2) proteins discharged from ...

Apical-basal polarity plays critical roles in the functions of epithelial tissues. However, the mechanisms of epithelial polarity establishment and maintenance remain to be fully elucidated. Here we show that the membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) family protein Dlg5 is required for the maintenance of apical polarity of follicle epithelium during Drosophila oogenesis. Dlg5 localizes a...

BACKGROUND In a specialized epithelial cell such as the Drosophila photoreceptor, a conserved set of proteins is essential for the establishment of polarity, its maintenance, or both--in Drosophila, these proteins include the apical factors Bazooka, D-atypical protein kinase C, and D-Par6 together with D-Ecadherin. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which such apical factors might...

We have investigated the relationships between the apical sorting mechanism using lipid rafts and the soluble N-ethyl maleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) machinery, which is involved in membrane docking and fusion. We first confirmed that anti-alpha-SNAP antibodies inhibit the apical pathway in Madin- Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells; in addition, we report that a rec...

Polarized epithelial cells develop and maintain distinct apical and basolateral surface domains despite a continuous flux of membranes between these domains. The Na(+)/H(+)exchanger NHE6 localizes to endosomes but its function is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that polarized hepatoma HepG2 cells express an NHE6.1 variant that localizes to recycling endosomes and colocalizes with transcytosing bu...

Epithelial cells respond to mechanical stimuli by increasing exocytosis, endocytosis, and ion transport, but how these processes are initiated and coordinated and the mechanotransduction pathways involved are not well understood. We observed that in response to a dynamic mechanical environment, increased apical membrane tension, but not pressure, stimulated apical membrane exocytosis and ion tr...