Aspartic proteases and their potential for transmission blocking strategies

Abstract

Sexual stage development in Plasmodium spp. is essential for transmission through the mosquito and to the human host. It represents objects to study a broad range of biological processes, including stage conversion and parasite/host co-adaptation. After the bloodmeal, male and female gametes emerge from intracellular gametocytes and zygote formation follows fertilization. Ookinetes develop from the zygote and traverse through the midgut epithelial cell layer to the basal lamina side of outer wall and develop into oocysts, the only parasite developmental stage that grows extracellularly and this growth and development creates thousands of sporozoites. Once fully developed and egressed, these ..