The <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Artemisinin Susceptibility-Associated AP-2 Adaptin μ Subunit is Clathrin Independent and Essential for Schizont Maturation
Ryan C. Henrici, Rachel L. Edwards, Martin Zoltner, Donelly A. van Schalkwyk, Melissa N. Hart, Franziska Mohring, Robert W. Moon, Stephanie D. Nofal, Avnish Patel, Christian Flueck, David A. Baker, Audrey R. Odom John, Mark C. Field, Colin J. Sutherland
Abstract
In most studied organisms, AP-2 is involved in bringing material into the cell from outside, a process called endocytosis. Previous work shows that changes to the μ subunit of AP-2 can contribute to drug resistance. Our experiments show that AP-2 is essential for parasite development in blood but does not have any role in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. This suggests that a specialized function for AP-2 has developed in malaria parasites, and this may be important for understanding its impact on drug resistance.