Affinage · Plasmodium

RPS24

PF3D7_0519400 · 40S ribosomal protein S24

Annotated
2026-09-07
6 papers in source corpus 3 papers cited in narrative 3 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

RPS24 (PF3D7_0519400) is a structural component of the 40S small subunit of the Plasmodium falciparum 80S ribosome, identified as a constituent protein within the small-subunit architecture resolved by cryo-EM of the parasite ribosome (PMID:24913268, PMID:26432834). It is present in the 40S subunit across multiple captured translational states of both purified schizont ribosomes and native ribosomes visualized in situ within infected erythrocytes (PMID:26432834, PMID:40825879). Beyond its membership in the small subunit complex, no enzymatic, regulatory, or individual interaction function has been experimentally attributed to RPS24 itself in the available corpus; the structural studies characterize the 40S subunit and drug-binding events (e.g., emetine at the small-subunit E-site) at the level of the ribosome as a whole rather than assigning any specific role to RPS24 (PMID:24913268, PMID:40825879).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 3 steps
  1. 2014 Medium

    The first high-resolution structure of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome placed RPS24 within the 40S small-subunit architecture, establishing it as a constituent protein of the parasite ribosome rather than a free-standing factor.

    Evidence Cryo-EM at 3.2 Å of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome in complex with emetine, resolving the small subunit and the emetine-bound E-site

    PMID:24913268

    Open questions at the time
    • No functional experiment targets RPS24 individually; its role is inferred only from complex membership
    • No interaction, enzymatic, or regulatory activity assigned to RPS24
  2. 2015 Medium

    Multiple cryo-EM reconstructions of schizont-purified ribosomes confirmed RPS24 as a small-subunit component across distinct translational states and distinguished parasite-specific structural features from the mammalian ribosome.

    Evidence Sub-nanometer cryo-EM with flexible-fitting atomic model building from P. falciparum schizont-purified 80S ribosomes

    PMID:26432834

    Open questions at the time
    • RPS24 is modeled as part of the 40S but no dynamics or function specific to it are described
    • Whether RPS24 contributes to any parasite-specific structural feature is not addressed
  3. 2025 Medium

    In situ cryo-ET showed RPS24 as part of the 40S subunit in natively assembled, actively translating ribosomes within infected erythrocytes, extending its structural assignment from purified particles to the cellular context.

    Evidence In situ cryo-electron tomography of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes yielding eight translating 80S ribosome states, with translation-inhibitor perturbation

    PMID:40825879

    Open questions at the time
    • Drug perturbation acts on the whole translating ribosome, not RPS24 specifically
    • No individual contribution of RPS24 to elongation-factor engagement or ribosome biogenesis is defined

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • Whether RPS24 has any function beyond being a structural subunit of the 40S — including a role in subunit assembly, mRNA/tRNA handling, or parasite-specific translational regulation — remains unaddressed in the corpus.
  • No knockdown, knockout, or mutational analysis of RPS24
  • No RPS24-specific interaction or biochemical assay
  • No evidence on essentiality or druggability of RPS24 itself

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification
Complex memberships
40S small ribosomal subunit of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome

Evidence

Reading pass · 3 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2014 Cryo-EM structure of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome at 3.2 Å resolution revealed the small (40S) subunit architecture, within which RPS24 (PF3D7_0519400) is a constituent protein; the structure showed emetine binding at the E-site of the small subunit and blocking mRNA/tRNA translocation. Cryo-EM structure determination at 3.2 Å resolution of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome in complex with emetine eLife Medium 24913268
2015 Sub-nanometer cryo-EM reconstructions of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome purified from blood-stage schizonts captured multiple translational states; RPS24 (PF3D7_0519400) is a structural component of the small subunit in these atomic models, and structural/dynamic features differentiating the parasite ribosome from mammalian ribosomes were identified. Cryo-EM with multiple reconstructions and flexible-fitting atomic model building from P. falciparum schizont-purified ribosomes Nucleic acids research Medium 26432834
2025 In situ cryo-electron tomography of P. falciparum-infected human erythrocytes determined eight high-resolution structures of the native malarial 80S ribosome in actively translating states; RPS24 (PF3D7_0519400) is a component of the 40S subunit visualized in these native cellular structures. Treatment with a Plasmodium-specific translation inhibitor decreased elongation factor-bound ribosomal states and was associated with apparent upregulation of ribosome biogenesis. In situ cryo-electron tomography of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes; high-resolution structural determination of eight translating ribosome states; drug perturbation experiments Nature structural & molecular biology Medium 40825879

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 6 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2014 Cryo-EM structure of the Plasmodium falciparum 80S ribosome bound to the anti-protozoan drug emetine. eLife 276 24913268
2015 Dynamical features of the Plasmodium falciparum ribosome during translation. Nucleic acids research 46 26432834
2009 Induction of mucosal and systemic humoral immune responses in murine system by intranasal immunization with peptide antigens of P. vivax and CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) in microparticle delivery. International immunopharmacology 19 19595793
2010 Induction of cell-mediated immune responses to peptide antigens of P. vivax in microparticles using intranasal immunization. Immunological investigations 15 20450288
2025 Integrated structural biology of the native malarial translation machinery and its inhibition by an antimalarial drug. Nature structural & molecular biology 10 40825879
2025 Antimalarial drug artemisinin stabilizes PfRACK1 binding to the ribosome. Structure (London, England : 1993) 4 40480224