Sphingomyelinase Treatment on Human Erythrocytes: Influenceon Membrane Lipid Rafts and Malaria Parasite Invasion

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  • Ofosuhene Mark
    Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tokyo Women’s Medical University Noguchi Memorial Institute, University of Ghana
  • Koshino Ichiro
    Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tokyo Women’s Medical University
  • Manno Sumie
    Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tokyo Women’s Medical University
  • Takakuwa Yuichi
    Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tokyo Women’s Medical University

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Abstract

The erythrocyte membrane, the entry site of the malaria parasite, has lipid microdomains referred to as the lipidrafts, which are enriched in sphingomyelin and cholesterol. Evidences have demonstrated the importance of choles-terol in structure and functions of the lipid rafts and malaria parasite invasion into erythrocytes, while that of sphin-gomyelin is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the influence of sphingomyelinase treatment on erythro-cyte lipid rafts and malaria parasite invasion into erythrocytes. Sphingomyelin was decreased by about 65% aftersphingomyelinase treatment, and sphingomyelin, cholesterol and flotillin–1, a lipid raft marker protein, were absentfrom lipid raft fractions. The treatment also significantly reduced the association of Gsαin lipid raft fractions, sug-gesting that Gsα–mediated signal transduction was impaired. More importantly, malaria parasite invasion was pre-vented by this treatment. Our study illustrates that sphingomyelin, like cholesterol, is essential for the structure andfunctions of the lipid rafts in the erythrocyte membrane and malaria parasite invasion.

Journal

  • MEMBRANE

    MEMBRANE 34 (1), 44-51, 2009

    THE MEMBRANE SOCIETY OF JAPAN

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