UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC
Erythrocyte modifications by malaria parasite proteins are linked to both disease severity and infection. Essential modifications include the development of novel tubovesicular network (TVN) pathway linked to the import of host rafts, nutrients and drugs into parasitized erythrocytes. A parasite encoded sphingomyelin synthase is known to be critical to the development and function of the TVN. Inhibition of sphingomyelin synthase coupled with expression profiling has identified candidate genes that may be linked to network assembly and function. This grant has one specific aim, which is to validate genes linked to sphingolipid synthesis in TVN assembly and function.