AMA-1

Apical membrane antigen 1
AMA-1
SMART accession number:SM00815
Description: Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1) is a Plasmodium asexual blood-stage antigen. It has been suggested that positive selection operates on the AMA-1 gene in regions coding for antigenic sites.
Interpro abstract (IPR003298):

A novel antigen of Plasmodium falciparum has been cloned that contains a hydrophobic domain typical of an integral membrane protein. The antigen is designated apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1) by virtue of appearing to be located in the apical complex [ (PUBMED:2701947) ]. AMA-1 appears to be transported to the merozoite surface close to the time of schizont rupture.

The 66kDa merozoite surface antigen (PK66) of Plasmodium knowlesi, a simian malaria, possesses vaccine-related properties believed to originate from a receptor-like role in parasite invasion of erythrocytes [ (PUBMED:2211675) ]. The sequence of PK66 is conserved throughout plasmodium, and shows high similarity to P. falciparum AMA-1. Following schizont rupture, the distribution of PK66 changes in a coordinate manner associated with merozoite invasion. Prior to rupture, the protein is concentrated at the apical end, following which it distributes itself entirely across the surface of the free merozoite. Immunofluorescence studies suggest that, during invasion, PK66 is excluded from the erythrocyte at, and behind, the invasion interface [ (PUBMED:2211675) ].

GO process:pathogenesis (GO:0009405)
GO component:membrane (GO:0016020)
Family alignment:
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There are 262 AMA-1 domains in 261 proteins in SMART's nrdb database.

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