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Endothelin1 (ET-1) is a 21-amino acid peptide produced by the vascular endothelium under hypoxia, that acts locally as regulator of vascular tone and inflammation. The role of ET-1 in Plasmodium falciparum malaria is unknown, although tissue hypoxia is frequent as a result of the cytoadherence of parasitized red blood cell (pRBC) to the microvasculature. Here, we show that both synthetic and endothelial-derived ET-1 are removed by parasitized RBC (D10 and W2 strains, chloroquine sensitive, and resistant, resp.) and native haemozoin (HZ, malaria pigment), but not by normal RBC, delipidized HZ, or synthetic beta-haematin (BH). The effect is dose dependent, selective for ET-1, but not for its precursor, big ET-1, and not due to the proteolysis of ET-1. The results indicate that ET-1 binds to the lipids moiety of HZ and membranes of infected RBCs. These findings may help understanding the consequences of parasite sequestration in severe malaria.

Original publication

DOI

10.1155/2010/854927

Type

Journal article

Journal

Journal of biomedicine & biotechnology

Publication Date

01/2010

Volume

2010

Addresses

Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica-Microbiologia-Virologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, Italy. nicoletta.basilico@unimi.it

Keywords

Erythrocytes, Cell Line, Endothelial Cells, Humans, Plasmodium falciparum, Malaria, Falciparum, Lipids, Endothelin-1, Hemeproteins, Polymerase Chain Reaction