Maryse Lebrun receives ERC Advanced Grant 2018 to unravel the mechanism of eukaryote secretion system in Apicomplexan parasites
The ability of apicomplexan parasites (Plasmodium, Toxoplasma) to cause disease depends on the secretion of specialized secretory organelles, called rhoptries. These eukaryotic parasites inject rhoptry proteins directly in the cytoplasm of host cells not only for invasion but also to hijack host functions crucial to establish and maintain infection. However, how they secrete and inject rhoptry effectors into cells is an enigma. The ERC project aims to dissect the mechanistic steps and the molecular components that assemble the rhoptry secretion machine.
