Disruption of lipid rafts by lidocaine inhibits erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium falciparum

Thiol-Based Posttranslational Modifications in Parasites

“…Thus, the addition of palmitate mediates the binding of several glideosome-associated proteins to the IMC in Plasmodium and Toxoplasma and is thus most likely crucial for host cell invasion. A link between palmitoylation and invasion is further supported by the finding that palmitoylation targets proteins to lipid rafts (1, 91, 240), and lipid rafts of the erythrocyte membrane are important for erythrocyte invasion of P. falciparum (129,155).…”

Membrane Rafts in the Erythrocyte Membrane: A Novel Role of MPP1p55

“…Signal transduction was restored upon removal of lidocaine from the erythrocyte membrane (Kamata et al 2008 ). These authors (Koshino and Takakuwa 2009 ) showed that disruption of erythrocyte membrane-rafts with lidocaine also prevented Plasmodium invasion of erythrocytes in culture.…”

Ookinete-Interacting Proteins on the Microvillar Surface are Partitioned into Detergent Resistant Membranes of Anopheles gambiae Midguts

“…(65) The biological relevance of lipid raft involvement in parasite invasion is further supported by the observation that treatment of uninfected erythrocytes with lidocaine, which disrupts lipid rafts, inhibits merozoite invasion of these erythrocytes. (66) Although ookinetes do not form a PVM during invasion, both merozoite invasion of erythrocytes and ookinete invasion of the midgut epithelium appear to be mechanistically similar in that host DRM-associated proteins are involved in mediating the invasion process.…”