A voltage-dependent channel involved in nutrient uptake by red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite

Sanjay A. Desai, Sergey M. Bezrukov and Joshua Zimmerberg
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Sanjay A. Desai: The Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Sergey M. Bezrukov: The Laboratory of Physical and Structural Biology
Joshua Zimmerberg: National Institutes of Health

Nature, 2000, vol. 406, issue 6799, 1001-1005

Abstract: Abstract Growth of the malaria parasite in human red blood cells (RBCs) is accompanied by an increased uptake of many solutes including anions1, sugars2, purines3, amino acids4 and organic cations5. Although the pharmacological properties and selectivity of this uptake suggest that a chloride channel is involved, the precise mechanism has not been identified. Moreover, the location of this uptake in the infected RBC is unknown because tracer studies are complicated by possible uptake through fluid-phase pinocytosis6 or membranous ducts7. Here we have studied the permeability of infected RBCs using the whole-cell voltage-clamp method. With this method, uninfected RBCs had ohmic whole-cell conductances of less than 100 pS, consistent with their low tracer permeabilities8. In contrast, trophozoite-infected RBCs exhibited voltage-dependent, non-saturating currents that were 150-fold larger, predominantly carried by anions and abruptly abolished by channel blockers. Patch-clamp measurements and spectral analysis confirmed that a small (

Date: 2000
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DOI: 10.1038/35023000

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