Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY
Volume 35, Issue 6, Pages 597-615Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.01.009
Keywords
Toxoplasma; Plasmodium; lipid bodies; rhoptries; multivesicular bodies; cholesterol; cholesteryl esters; triacylglycerol
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The fast intracellular multiplication of apicomplexan parasites including Toxoplasma and Plasmodium, requires large amounts of lipids necessary for the membrane biogenesis of new progenies. Hence, the study of lipids is fundamental in order to understand the biology and pathogenesis of these deadly organisms. Much has been reported on the importance of polar lipids, e.g. phospholipids in Plasmodium. Comparatively, little attention has been paid to the metabolism of neutral lipids, including sterols, steryl esters and acylglycerols. In eukaryotic cells, free sterols are membrane components whereas steryl esters and acylglycerols are stored in cytosolic lipid inclusions. The first part of this review describes the recent advances in neutral lipid synthesis and storage in Toxoplasma and Plasmodium. New potential pharmacological targets in the pathways producing neutral lipids are outlined. In addition to lipid bodies, Apicomplexa contain unique secretory organelles involved in parasite invasion named rhoptries. These compartments appear to sequester most of the cholesterol found in the exocytic pathway. The second part of the review focuses on rhoptry cholesterol and its potential roles in the biogenesis, structural organisation and function of these unique organelles among eukaryotes. (C) 2005 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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