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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Apical membrane antigen 1 from Plasmodium is a leading malaria vaccine candidate. The protein is essential for host-cell invasion, but its molecular function is unknown. The crystal structure of the three domains comprising the ectoplasmic region of the antigen from P. vivax, solved at 1.8 angstrom resolution, shows that domains I and II belong to the PAN motif, which defines a superfamily of protein folds implicated in receptor binding. We also mapped the epitope of an invasion-inhibitory monoclonal antibody specific for the P. falciparum ortholog and modeled this to the structure. The location of the epitope and current knowledge on structure-function correlations for PAN domains together suggest a receptor-binding role during invasion in which domain II plays a critical part. These results are likely to aid vaccine and drug design.

Crystal structure of the malaria vaccine candidate apical membrane antigen 1.,Pizarro JC, Vulliez-Le Normand B, Chesne-Seck ML, Collins CR, Withers-Martinez C, Hackett F, Blackman MJ, Faber BW, Remarque EJ, Kocken CH, Thomas AW, Bentley GA Science. 2005 Apr 15;308(5720):408-11. Epub 2005 Feb 24. PMID:15731407^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.