Localisation of PfVAP1 in complemented D10 parasites. Ty1-tagged D10 Pfvap1 parasites were labelled with anti-Ty1 monoclonal antibody to determine the localisation of the protein. In early trophozoites PfVAP1 is associated with the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) as determined by double labelling with PfEXP1. It is then trafficked via the Maurer’s clefts (PfSBP1) to the infected erythrocyte membrane. In the Maurer’s clefts, PfVAP1 co-localises with PfEMP1 (3rd row) and appears to localise in distinct regions, separate from PfEMP1 at the erythrocyte membrane (4th row). Scale bars = 5 μm.

Nacer A, Claes A, Roberts A, Scheidig-Benatar C, Sakamoto H, Ghorbal M, Lopez-Rubio JJ, Mattei D. Discovery of a novel and conserved Plasmodium falciparum exported protein that is important for adhesion of PfEMP1 at the surface of infected erythrocytes. Cell Microbiol. 2015 Feb 23