Myc-tag fused to the N-terminus of mini-SURFIN4.1 and mini-SURFIN4.2 proteins are detected in Maurer’s clefts. (B and C) IFA images of the transfectants expressing Myc-mini-SURFIN4.1 (B) or Myc-mini-SURFIN4.2 (C) with anti-Ty1 or anti-Myc antibodies co-stained with anti-SBP1 Maurer’s cleft marker antibody. Scale bar = 5 μm. Both anti-Ty1 and anti-Myc antibodies detected a punctate pattern of expression in the iRBC cytoplasm which colocalized with the Maurer's cleft marker protein SBP1 (B), indicating that the Nterminal sequence of SURFIN4.1 is not processed during export to Maurer's clefts. IFA with anti-Ty1 or anti-Myc antibodies showed that both signals co-localized with SBP1 (C), indicating that Myc-mini-SURFIN4.2 is exported to Maurer's clefts and at that location Myc-mini-SURFIN4.2 retains the N-terminal Myc sequence.

Chitama BA, Miyazaki S, Zhu X, Kagaya W, Yahata K, Kaneko O. Multiple charged amino acids of Plasmodium falciparum SURFIN(4.1) N-terminal region are important for efficient export to the red blood cell. Parasitol Int. 2019. pii: S1383-5769(19)30092-3.