Composition and Function of Phospholipids in Plasmodium Knowlesi.

Abstract

The lipid extracts of normal and Plasmodium knowlesi-infected rhesus erythrocytes and of the parasite itself have been examined for phospholipid composition on an animal-to-animal basis. Phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) represented larger percentages in the parasite than in the host. Sphingomyelin (SM) and phosphatidylserine (PS) averaged less than 20% and 33% respectively in the parasite than in the infected erythrocyte. The phospholipid distribution and the ratio of cholesterol-to-cholesterol ester were determined for plasma isolated from normal, fasted, and Plasmodium knowlesi-infected monkeys. Compared to normal plasmas, the infected plasmas showed patterns with slight increases in PC and large decreases in lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). The cholesterol-to-cholesterol ester ratio was always less than one in normal and greater than one in infected plasmas. Fasting produced no significant differences on normal samples. A successful high-pressure liquid chromatography separation of LPC, PE, PI, PS, SM, and phosphatidic acid has been achieved with synthetic samples.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1975
Accession Number
ADA018552

Entities

People

  • William C. Purdy

Organizations

  • University of Maryland

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Analytical Chemistry Techniques
  • Animals
  • Blood
  • Cholesterol
  • Chromatography
  • Erythrocytes
  • High Pressure
  • Lipids
  • Liquid Chromatography
  • Membrane Lipids
  • Parasites
  • Pressure Distribution

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

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