P. falciparum (lab strain DD2) treated with A23187 vs untreated [CGH]. Plasmodium falciparum

Calcium is a universal second messenger molecule which plays a significant role in several biological processes. Presence of calcium sensors (calmodulins) and calcium-dependent protein kinases in Plasmodium species suggests an important role of calcium-dependent signaling pathways in the regulation of cellular processes in the malaria parasites. Evidence for the transcriptional response of Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood stages to the well-known calcium ionophore A23187 has been presented here. Overall design: Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was carried out with total DNA isolated from the untreated parasites and the parasites treated with the calcium ionophore (A23187 5 μM concentration) at 1 hour, 4 hours and 6 hours post treatment. Genomic DNA from the isolates was extracted by phenol chloroform. 3 μg of the total DNA from each of the isolate was subjected to klenow(NEB) reaction as described in Bozdech Z, Llinas M, Pulliam BL, Wong ED, Zhu J, DeRisi JL: The transcriptome of the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle of Plasmodium falciparum. PLoS Biol 2003, 1(1):E5. Treated DNA labeled with Cy3 was then hybridized against untreated DNA labeled with Cy5.