Journal article

TgCDPK3 Regulates Calcium-Dependent Egress of Toxoplasma gondii from Host Cells

JM McCoy, L Whitehead, GG van Dooren, CJ Tonkin

Plos Pathogens | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2012

Abstract

The phylum Apicomplexa comprises a group of obligate intracellular parasites of broad medical and agricultural significance, including Toxoplasma gondii and the malaria-causing Plasmodium spp. Key to their parasitic lifestyle is the need to egress from an infected cell, actively move through tissue, and reinvade another cell, thus perpetuating infection. Ca2+-mediated signaling events modulate key steps required for host cell egress, invasion and motility, including secretion of microneme organelles and activation of the force-generating actomyosin-based motor. Here we show that a plant-like Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase (CDPK) in T. gondii, TgCDPK3, which localizes to the inner side of t..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant APP1025598. JMM is supported by a Australian Postgraduate Award, GGvD is supported by an Australian Research Council QEII Fellowship and CJT is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Award. This work was also made possible through Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support and Australian Government NHMRC IRIISS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.