Plasmodium falciparum: The pfmdr2 protein is not overexpressed in chloroquine-resistant isolates of the malaria parasite

Abstract

We have isolated and sequenced a full-length gene (pfmdr2) that has homology to the ABC (ATP-binding cassette)-type transport proteins which includes the mammalian P-glycoproteins, CFTR, and the protein product of the Plasmodium falciparum pfmdr1 gene. The protein encoded by the pfmdr2 gene has 10 hydrophobic domains followed by a region homologous to the nucleotide binding fold of the ABC transport proteins. The pfmdr2 protein also shows homology outside the nucleotide binding fold and some structural similarity to HMT1, a protein involved in heavy metal tolerance in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Antibodies raised to the pfmdr2 protein react with a 110-kDa band and localization by immunofluore..