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The heat shock protein 40 family of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Author(s) -
Rug Melanie,
Maier Alexander G.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
iubmb life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.132
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1521-6551
pISSN - 1521-6543
DOI - 10.1002/iub.525
Subject(s) - malaria , plasmodium falciparum , plasmodium (life cycle) , biology , heat shock protein , eukaryote , chaperone (clinical) , infectious disease (medical specialty) , parasite hosting , protein family , disease , virology , immunology , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , genetics , computer science , genome , pathology , world wide web , gene
Few diseases have had such a profound influence on human evolution and history as malaria. Despite intense efforts malaria infection continues to be a major killer. The causative agent of malaria, the unicellular eukaryote Plasmodium , displays a fascinating biology in which ubiquitous cellular concepts are modified to serve the particular needs of the malaria parasite. In this review, we explore how Plasmodium utilizes the heat shock protein 40 system, a chaperone system that ensures correct protein folding under normal and stress conditions. We highlight the peculiarities of the Plasmodium system and discuss whether any components of the system might be exploited for intervention strategies against this debilitating disease. © 2011 IUBMBIUBMB Life, 63(12): 1081–1086, 2011.