Which membrane transporters do the parasites need for survival in macrophages?

Membrane transporters or channels act as gatekeepers to determine which substances enter or exit the cell and control intracellular flow of metabolites and supply to organelles. Parasites are experts at scavenging from their host and possessing the correct set of transporters is vital for the parasite in each of its life cycle stages, in the sand fly and inside macrophages. We screened a library of membrane transporter mutants to discover which transporters are critical for survival in macrophages, what their functions are whether they contribute to drug action or offer potential as drug targets.

In a follow-up study to this screen, we are focusing on proton pumps, studying the function of V-type H+ATPases and P-type H+ATPases in intracellular and extracellular Leishmania parasites.

Funding: MRC/DFID, SNSF