PF3D7_0103000

PF3D7_0103000 (VTA1/PfVta1) functions as a cofactor of the ESCRT machinery in Plasmodium falciparum, where it directly stimulates the enzymatic activity of PfVPS4, the core AAA-ATPase of the ESCRT complex, as demonstrated by in vitro biochemical reconstitution (PMID:41957628). Beyond this cofactor role in enhancing PfVPS4 ATPase activity (PMID:41957628), no further mechanistic detail — including its own domain architecture, oligomeric state, localization, or cellular phenotype — has been characterized for PF3D7_0103000 in the available corpus.

1. 2026 Medium

   It was unknown whether P. falciparum possessed a functional VPS4 cofactor; reconstituting PfVta1 with PfVPS4 in vitro established that PF3D7_0103000 acts as a genuine ATPase-stimulating cofactor of the parasite ESCRT AAA-ATPase.

   Evidence In vitro protein purification and enzyme kinetics assays measuring PfVPS4 ATPase activity with and without the PfVta1 cofactor

   PMID:41957628

   Open questions at the time

   • Single lab, single in vitro study without independent replication
   • No cellular or genetic evidence that this cofactor activity operates in vivo in the parasite
   • Interaction interface, binding stoichiometry, and localization of PfVta1 are undefined

• Whether PfVta1 is essential for parasite ESCRT function, membrane remodeling, or viability, and how it engages PfVPS4 structurally, remains unaddressed in the available corpus.
• No genetic knockout or knockdown phenotype reported
• No structural model of the PfVta1–PfVPS4 complex
• No subcellular localization data for PfVta1