Merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) is a highly polymorphic Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein implicated in the invasion of human erythrocytes during the asexual cycle. It forms a complex with MSP6 and MSP7 on the merozoite surface, and this complex is released from the parasite around the time of erythrocyte invasion. MSP1 and many other merozoite surface proteins contain dimorphi...

The merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) is a relatively abundant protein which has been found in all Plasmodium species examined [1,2]. MSP-1 is synthesized as a high molecular mass ( 200 kDa) precursor protein which is proteolytically processed into smaller fragments. Proteolytic processing of MSP-1 is a two-step procedure characterized by primary and secondary processing events [3]. Primary p...

Malaria, one of the world's most common diseases, is caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite known as Plasmodium. In this study, we have determined the evolutionary relationship of two single-copy proteins, circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1), among Plasmodium species using various bioinformatics tools and softwares. These two proteins are major blood s...

Malaria is an important tropical infection which urgently requires intervention of an effective vaccine. Antigenic variations of the parasite and allelic diversity of the host are main problems in the development of an effective malaria vaccine. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) directed against Plasmodium falciparum-derived antigens are shown to play an important role for the protection against ma...

When merozoites of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are released from infected erythrocytes and invade new red cells, a component of a protein complex derived from the merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP-1) precursor undergoes a single proteolytic cleavage known as secondary processing. This releases the complex from the parasite surface, except for a small membrane-bound fragment consis...

A hypervariable region (HVR) previously identified in the carboxy-terminal one-third of the Babesia bovis variable merozoite surface antigen family was more extensively analyzed in merozoite surface antigen 1 (MSA-1) from 16 strains and isolates. The MSA-1 HVR is proline rich and contains three semiconserved motifs nearly identical to those described for the related family member MSA-2. Two MSA...

Heparin, a sulfated glycoconjugate, reportedly inhibits the blood-stage growth of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Elucidation of the inhibitory mechanism is valuable for developing novel invasion-blocking treatments based on heparin. Merozoite surface protein 1 has been reported as a candidate target of heparin; however, to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved, we cha...

Understanding the transmission and movement of Plasmodium parasites is crucial for malaria elimination and prevention of resurgence. Located at the limit of malaria transmission in the Pacific, Vanuatu is an ideal candidate for elimination programs due to low endemicity and the isolated nature of its island setting. We analyzed the variation in the merozoite surface protein 1 (msp1) and the cir...