Figure 2.

The role of some described Ca²⁺-binding proteins involved in the development stage differentiation and their expression throughout Plasmodium life cycle. During the blood meal, the mosquito vector from genus Anopheles, inoculate sporozoites released from its salivary glands that will invade hepatocytes. This process is described to be CDPK6-dependent. Moreover, CN allows sporozoite-to-liver stages development inside hepatocytes. Following formation of merozoites in the liver cells, they are released in the bloodstream to continue asexual development stages, invading new RBCs. This process is mediated by CDPK1, CN and PfCaM/PfPKB complex. The role of CDPK7 to maintain the asexual developmental stages is also reported. In addition, the presence of the phosphatases CN and PP7 are implicated in the ring and schizont stages. After schizont maturation, the merozoites are released into the bloodstream to invade new RBCs, which mechanism that requires the action of CDPK1 and CDPK5. Some parasites pass through a morphological transition to form gametocytes, and this process depends on CDPK1, CN and PP7. After a blood meal of the mosquito vector, these forms maturate into male exflagellated and female gametocytes, named as microgametes and macrogametes, respectively. For this transition, CDPK2 and CDPK4 are required. These forms are fused into a zygote, which maturates to a motile ookinete. The ookinete motility is regulated by CDPK3. The ookinete exits from the lumen of mosquito midgut as an oocyst and this transition is mediated by CN. The maturation of the oocyst will release new sporozoites which will migrate into the salivary glands of the mosquito vector. Thus, in an eventual blood meal, these new sporozoites will infect a new host and complete the parasite life cycle in order to propagate malaria disease.