Recombinant DNA clone containing a genomic fragment of PfHRP-II gene from Plasmodium falciparum

摘要

The invention relates to isolated clones of DNA from Plasmodium falciparum that encode a histidine-rich protein from that organism. The PfHRPII protein is expressed in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes. The cloned gene segment includes an intron-exon boundary near the amino-terminus of the coding sequence. The PfHRPII protein has a Mr of 60-80 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. This is substantially higher than the molecular weight of about 35 kDa as estimated from the predicted amino acid sequence of PfHRPII. The PfHRPII amino acid sequence includes a hydrophobic leader sequence, consistent with secretion of PfHRPII observed in vivo and in vivo. The amino acid sequence of PfHRPII is also characterized by a number of tandem repeats having a high content of histidine, alanine and aspartic acid.