Substrate-dependent gliding motility is key to malaria transmission. It mediates host cell traversal, invasion and infection by Plasmodium and related apicomplexan parasites. The 110 amino acid-long cell surface protein LIMP is essential for P. berghei sporozoites where it is required for the invasion of the mosquito’s salivary glands and the liver cells of the rodent host. Here we define an additional role for LIMP during mosquito invasion by the ookinete. limp mRNA is provided as a translationally repressed mRNP (messenger ribonucleoprotein) by the female gametocyte and the protein translated in the ookinete. Parasites depleted of limp (Δlimp) develop ookinetes with apparent normal morphology and no defect during in vitro gliding motility, and yet display a pronounced reduction in oocyst numbers; compared to wildtype 82 % more Δlimp ookinetes remain within the mosquito blood meal explaining the decrease in oocysts. As in the sporozoite, LIMP exerts a profound role on ookinete infection of the mosquito.

取决于基质的滑动运动是疟疾传播的关键。它通过疟原虫和相关的apicomplexan寄生虫介导宿主细胞的穿越，侵袭和感染。110个氨基酸长的细胞表面蛋白LIMP对于伯氏疟原虫子孢子至关重要，在这里伯氏疟原虫是入侵蚊子唾液腺和啮齿动物宿主肝细胞所必需的。在这里，我们定义了在机钩虫入侵蚊子期间LIMP的其他作用。雌性配子体提供了limp mRNA作为翻译抑制的mRNP（信使核糖核蛋白），而该蛋白在子房中被翻译。贫化的寄生虫跛行（Δ跛行）培育出具有明显正常形态，在体外滑行运动过程中无缺陷，但仍显示出明显减少的卵囊数量的猪胚；与野生型相比82％以上Δ跛行动合子保持蚊子血粉说明卵囊的降低内。与子孢子一样，LIMP在蚊子的钩虫感染中发挥着重要作用。