Perfil proteico de extratos brutos obtidos de Plasmodium falciparum cultivados in vitro

Abstract

Malaria is a tropical and subtropical parasitic disease caused by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted by female anopheline mosquitoes. There are 6 species that parasitize man: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malarie, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium simium. Most cases of severe malaria that lead to death occur due to Plasmodium falciparum infection and in the first contact of pregnant women and children with the disease. Anemia in severe malaria is very common and can be caused by several factors such as erythrocyte sequestration, blood loss due to and changes in erythropoiesis and there are some factors that are considered responsible for anemia in malaria: for it, such as the destruction of blood cells parasitized reds, a reduction in the half-life of erythrocytes in a systemic infection and the premature destruction and removal by the spleen of non-parasitized erythrocytes. characterizing the proteins present in Plasmodium falciparum opens the door to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. For this, a culture of Plasmodium falciparum strain W2 was performed and, when reaching a minimum parasitemia of 6% in the form of schizonts, protein extraction was performed. An aliquot of the crude extract was used to make an electrophoresis for comparative purposes, afterwards, the extract was processed and made a new electrophoresis with the soluble proteins of P. falciparum. Then, a comparative study of the molecular weights presented in the electrophoresis bands of the samples was carried out with the literature. In both electrophoreses, a band with an albumin-like appearance and molecular weight was observed. In addition, in protein electrophoresis, bands of 180kDa, 55kDa - only in the unpurified hemozoin well -, 35-25kDa and 25-15kDa were observed. Several studies carried out corroborate our findings, with the exception of the 35-25kDa bands. Further studies should be carried out to elucidate the role of these proteins in the pathogenesis of severe malaria by P. falciparum infection.