Merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) of Plasmodium falciparum has been implicated as an important target of acquired immunity, and candidate components for a vaccine include polymorphic epitopes in the N-terminal polymorphic block 2 region. We designed a polyvalent hybrid recombinant protein incorporating sequences of the three major allelic types of block 2 together with a composite repeat seque...

Hybrids lose heterotic yield advantage when multiplied sexually via meiosis. A potential alternative breeding system for hybrids is apospory, where female gametes develop without meiosis. Common among grasses, apospory begins in the nucellus, where aposporous initials (AIs) appear near the sexual megaspore mother cell (MeMC). The cellular origin of AIs is obscure, but one possibility, suggested...

A 42-kDa fragment from the C terminus of major merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) is among the leading malaria vaccine candidates that target infection by asexual erythrocytic-stage malaria parasites. The MSP1(42) gene fragment from the Vietnam-Oak Knoll (FVO) strain of Plasmodium falciparum was expressed as a soluble protein in Escherichia coli and purified according to good manufacturing prac...

INTRODUCTION The status of msp1, msp2 and glurp allele frequency and the diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in Northwestern Colombia before the implementation of an artemisinin-combined therapy have been explored only by a few authors and in a relatively small number of samples from this highly endemic region. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the frequency of msp1, msp2, and glurp alleles and the divers...

Plasmodium falciparum invasion of human red blood cells (RBCs) is an intricate process requiring a number of distinct ligand-receptor interactions at the merozoite-erythrocyte interface. Merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1), a highly abundant ligand coating the merozoite surface in all species of malaria parasites, is essential for RBC invasion and considered a leading candidate for inclusion in ...

Abstract Background As malaria incidence and transmission in a region decreases, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify areas of active transmission. Improved methods for identifying monitoring foci are needed low parasite prevalence order achieve elimination. Serological assays can provide population-level infection history inform elimination campaigns. Methods A bead-based multiplex an...

We investigated whether anti-merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP1) block 2 antibodies mediate the monocyte-dependent antibody-mediated cellular inhibition (ADCI) of Plasmodium falciparum. This study was performed because soluble molecules have been shown to trigger ADCI and because MSP1 block 2 is released following processing and is the target of cytophilic IgG3 responses in exposed populations. ...

During erythrocyte invasion, Plasmodium falciparum merozoites use multiple receptor-ligand interactions in a series of coordinated events, but current knowledge of these interactions is limited. Using real-time imaging of invasion, we established that heparin-like molecules block early, and essential, events in erythrocyte invasion by merozoites. All P falciparum isolates tested, and parasites ...

Merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) is the major protein on the surface of the plasmodial merozoite, and its carboxy terminus, the 19-kDa fragment (MSP1(19)), is highly conserved and effective in induction of a protective immune response against malaria parasite infection in mice and monkeys. However, the duration of the immune response has not been elucidated. As such, we immunized BALB/c mice ...

The function of the novel gene MSP1 (MULTIPLE SPOROCYTE), which controls early sporogenic development, was elucidated by characterizing a retrotransposon-tagged mutation of rice. The MSP1 gene encoded a Leu-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase. The msp1 mutation gave rise to an excessive number of both male and female sporocytes. In addition, the formation of anther wall layers was disorder...