Affinage · Plasmodium

SEC23

PF3D7_0822600 · protein transport protein SEC23

Annotated
2026-09-08
11 papers in source corpus 3 papers cited in narrative 3 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

PF3D7_0822600 (SEC23) is a putative COPII coat component of P. falciparum implicated in ER-based vesicular trafficking within the intraerythrocytic parasite (PMID:12850265, PMID:26043001). Unusually, it localizes to Maurer's clefts rather than to canonical ER exit sites, marking a divergent subcellular distribution for this coat component in the malaria parasite (PMID:12850265). Consistent with COPII complex membership, SEC23 co-immunoprecipitates with the coat component PfSec13 (PMID:26043001), and it also associates with the artemisinin-resistance determinant K13 (PfKelch13), placing it within a K13-linked vesicular trafficking pathway from the ER (PMID:32310999). Beyond these localization and interaction observations, the precise molecular function, cargo, and mechanistic role of PF3D7_0822600 have not been characterized in the available corpus.

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 3 steps
  1. 2003 Medium

    Whether a P. falciparum SEC23 homologue behaves like a canonical ER-exit-site COPII component was unknown; localizing it revealed an unexpected distribution to Maurer's clefts, hinting that COPII machinery is repurposed in the intraerythrocytic parasite.

    Evidence Immunofluorescence/microscopy subcellular localization in P. falciparum

    PMID:12850265

    Open questions at the time
    • No functional consequence of the Maurer's clefts localization was established
    • Not independently replicated in the corpus
    • Relationship to a canonical ER exit site pool was not resolved
  2. 2015 Low

    To test whether the parasite SEC23 acts as a COPII coat subunit, its physical association with the coat component PfSec13 was probed, supporting membership in the COPII vesicle coat complex.

    Evidence HA-tag co-immunoprecipitation in P. falciparum (cited secondarily in a WDR analysis paper)

    PMID:26043001

    Open questions at the time
    • Single co-IP cited secondarily; original experimental detail not directly available
    • No reciprocal pulldown or reconstitution of the COPII coat
    • Stoichiometry and directness of the SEC23-Sec13 interaction unresolved
  3. 2020 Medium

    Whether SEC23 intersects with the artemisinin-resistance pathway was unknown; identifying it as a K13-associated protein linked this COPII component to K13-regulated ER trafficking.

    Evidence Co-immunoprecipitation with K13-specific monoclonal antibodies plus mass spectrometry in P. falciparum

    PMID:32310999

    Open questions at the time
    • Single Co-IP with no reciprocal pulldown or functional validation of the K13 interaction
    • Directness versus indirect complex-mediated association not distinguished
    • Functional role of SEC23 in K13-mediated resistance not established

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • The molecular function of PF3D7_0822600 within COPII-mediated trafficking, its cargo, and the mechanistic significance of its Maurer's clefts localization and K13 association remain uncharacterized.
  • No genetic knockdown/knockout phenotype for PF3D7_0822600
  • No cargo or GTPase-regulation data linking it to COPII vesicle budding
  • No structural or reconstitution evidence for coat assembly

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification
Partners
K13 (PFKELCH13)PFSEC13
Complex memberships
COPII vesicle coat complex

Evidence

Reading pass · 3 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2003 A putative SEC23 homologue of P. falciparum was localized to Maurer's clefts by direct experimental methods (immunofluorescence/microscopy), indicating this COPII coat component has an unusual subcellular distribution in the intraerythrocytic parasite distinct from canonical ER exit sites. Subcellular localization by immunofluorescence/microscopy (direct localization experiment) Molecular and biochemical parasitology Medium 12850265
2020 SEC23 (PF3D7_0822600) was co-immunoprecipitated with K13 (PfKelch13) from P. falciparum parasite lysates using K13-specific monoclonal antibodies, identifying SEC23 as a putative K13-associated protein involved in vesicular trafficking from the ER. Co-immunoprecipitation with K13-specific monoclonal antibodies followed by mass spectrometry identification PLoS pathogens Medium 32310999
2015 SEC23 was identified as an interactor of PfSec13 (a COPII coat component) in P. falciparum by HA-tag co-immunoprecipitation, consistent with membership in the COPII vesicle coat complex. HA-tag co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) as reported in Dahan-Pasternak et al., cited in the WDR analysis paper PloS one Low 26043001

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 11 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2003 A putative Sec23 homologue of Plasmodium falciparum is located in Maurer's clefts. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 29 12850265
2023 Regulation of phosphoinositide metabolism in Apicomplexan parasites. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 0 37791074
2021 Rab5b-Associated Arf1 GTPase Regulates Export of N-Myristoylated Adenylate Kinase 2 From the Endoplasmic Reticulum in Plasmodium falciparum. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 0 33604307
2020 Pan-active imidazolopiperazine antimalarials target the Plasmodium falciparum intracellular secretory pathway. Nature communications 0 32286267
2020 Insights into the intracellular localization, protein associations and artemisinin resistance properties of Plasmodium falciparum K13. PLoS pathogens 0 32310999
2019 A genome-wide analysis of coatomer protein (COP) subunits of apicomplexan parasites and their evolutionary relationships. BMC genomics 0 30704415
2017 Motility precedes egress of malaria parasites from oocysts. eLife 0 28115054
2015 Genome-Wide Collation of the Plasmodium falciparum WDR Protein Superfamily Reveals Malarial Parasite-Specific Features. PloS one 0 26043001
2013 Comparative genomic analysis of multi-subunit tethering complexes demonstrates an ancient pan-eukaryotic complement and sculpting in Apicomplexa. PloS one 0 24086721
2013 Protein trafficking through the endosomal system prepares intracellular parasites for a home invasion. PLoS pathogens 0 24204248
2008 Dynamic RNA profiling in Plasmodium falciparum synchronized blood stages exposed to lethal doses of artesunate. BMC genomics 0 18706115