Protein Kinase-Regulated Inwardly Rectifying Anion and Organic Osmolyte Channels in Malaria-Infected Erythrocytes

摘要

The intraerythrocytic amplification of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum induces new pathways ofsolute permeability in the host cell's membrane. These pathways play a pivotal role in parasite development by supplyingthe parasite with nutrients, disposing of the parasite's metabolic waste and organic osmolytes, and adapting the host'selectrolyte composition to the parasite's needs. During the last ten years, electrophysiological investigations stronglysupported earlier evidence obtained by transport and pharmacological studies that this new permeability pathway, whichis induced by the parasite in the host cell membrane, is constituted by anion-selective channels. This review surveys theevidences acquired using the patch-clamp technique and discuss the hypothesis that protein kinase A is an effector of thesignalling pathway leading to the activation of endogenous channels upon infection.