Contribution in an anthology

Appeared in: Progress in Parasitology

Editor list: Mehlhorn, H

Publication year: 2011

Pages: 93-120

ISBN: 978-3-642-21395-3

eISBN: 978-3-642-21396-0

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21396-0_6

Title of series: Parasitology Research Monographs

Number in series: 2

Abstract: 

Post-translational protein modifications are covalent modifications of amino acid side chains that give rise to a high number of proteins deriving from a relatively small number of genes. The biological functions of post-translational modifications in cells are as diverse as their nature and play a significant and widespread role in the regulation of parasitic proteins. Parasites belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa are the causative agents of fatal diseases including malaria, toxoplasmosis, and cryptosporidiosis. In apicomplexan parasites, post-translational modifications are crucial for various processes, such as invasion into and egress from host cells (phosphorylation, prenylation, and palmitoylation), intracellular signaling (S-nitrosylation), trafficking (ubiquitination, prenylation, palmitoylation), hemoglobin degradation (proteolytic processing), regulation of gene expression (methylation and acetylation), cell cycle regulation (ubiquitination), and many more. Due to their essential functions, several post-translational modifications attract considerable attention with regard to antiparasitic drug development. A range of enzymes that mediate certain post-translational modifications are studied as highly interesting antiparasitic drug targets, including prenyltransferases, proteases, methyltransferases, histone acetytransferases and histone deacetylases, and deubiquitinating enzymes. In this article, we aim to summarize the current knowledge on post-translational modifications, their regulation, and their functions in apicomplexan parasites.

Harvard Citation style: Jortzig, E., Kehr, S. and Becker, K. (2011) Post-translational modifications in apicomplexan parasites, in Mehlhorn, H. (ed.) Progress in Parasitology. Berlin: Springer, pp. 93-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21396-0_6

APA Citation style: Jortzig, E., Kehr, S., & Becker, K. (2011). Post-translational modifications in apicomplexan parasites. In Mehlhorn, H. (Ed.), Progress in Parasitology (pp. 93-120). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21396-0_6