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CortesMalaria Lab

@cortesmalaria.bsky.social
110 followers 67 following 19 posts

Scientists passionate about understanding #epigenetic and #transcriptional processes in #malaria #parasites. We also like #gametocytes! cortesmalarialab.wordpress.com

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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
📝If you don’t have access, you can read the full paper on the following link 👇 rdcu.be/gQB7cttRfJDa 🫶👩‍🔬We thank generous funding from @caixaresearch.bsky.social
rdcu.be
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
📢And there is more… We already knew that AP2-HS also drives a protective #heat-shock response. Now we found that, additionally, it also regulates the activation of a compensatory #metabolic pathway in response to depletion of specific nutrients.
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
⛔This fine-tuned regulatory feedback loop between gdv1 and gdv1-as acts as a molecular safety brake. It prevents general heterochromatin disorganisation and excessive conversion, balancing #transmission with asexual #survival.
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We found that AP2-HS acts as the central #stress response hub to activate GDV1 and initiate sexual #conversion. When activated, GDV1 displaces heterochromatin and triggers the expression of ap2-g but also of gdv1-as, its own repressor🧬🔄
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
🍽️🌡️💊 Nutrient depletion, fever and some antimalarial drugs all trigger the same response: boosted sexual #conversion to enhance parasite #transmission. What is the common mechanism that drives this critical choice? 🤔
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
How do #malaria parasites know when human host conditions turn hostile and ‘decide’ to transmit to the mosquito? 🦟 Our new paper in @natmicrobiol.nature.com uncovers the molecular mechanism behind stress-induced sexual conversion in malaria parasites @isglobal.org 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
AP2-HS and a GDV1 regulatory feedback loop mediate environmental induction of sexual conversion in Plasmodium falciparum - Nature Microbiology
This study describes the complex transcriptional regulatory mechanism enabling fine-tuned and rapid regulation of Plasmodium falciparum investment in transmission under changing blood conditions.
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Reposted by CortesMalaria Lab
ISGlobal @isglobal.org · 13/07/2026
🦟🌡️ Could fever help slow #malaria transmission? A study led by #ISGlobal suggests that the high temperatures caused by fever may temporarily reduce the malaria parasite's ability to be transmitted to mosquitoes. 🔗 shorturl.at/XB3in
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Additionally, we found that the main antimalarial drug, artemisinin, also activates the heat-shock response💊.
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
We used an in vitro assay to mimic malaria fever episodes of different temperatures and durations 🌡️⌛. Even conditions mimicking mild fever rapidly activated the heat-shock response in asexual blood stages, but not in mature gametocytes, which consequently are very sensitive to high temperatures.
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
#Plasmodium falciparum has a peculiar heat-shock response that depends on the AP2-HS transcription factor. If you ever wondered which conditions can turn it on, please have a look at our new article in PLoS Pathogens! 🔥🧬 journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org
Characterisation of the thermal and non-thermal stress conditions that activate the Plasmodium falciparum AP2-HS-dependent heat-shock response
Author summary The most common clinical symptom of malaria is periodic fever. To survive at febrile temperatures, malaria parasites must protect themselves from the damage that these temperatures prod...
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Reposted by CortesMalaria Lab
Malariology @ ITM @itmmalaria.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
New preprint out! We made a #Plasmodium knowlesi A1-H.1 #transcriptome time course for asexual blood stages🩸. tinyurl.com/mwd9b8vx 👩‍💻Webtool to compare temporal expression to P. vivax: tinyurl.com/bdz2ndsj @itmantwerp.bsky.social @eknuepfer.bsky.social @cortesmalaria.bsky.social
tinyurl.com
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 🎵 Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! 🎄🎁🍾 The Epis send you warm holiday wishes from our brand-new lab location @www.pcb.ub.edu ✨✨✨
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Curious about which thermal 🌡️and non-thermal 💊conditions activate the AP2-HS-dependent heat-shock response in Plasmodium falciparum? Check out our new preprint in Biorxiv!📊🧪 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Thermal and non-thermal stress conditions activate the Plasmodium falciparum AP2-HS-dependent heat-shock response
To preserve proteome homeostasis and survive at higher-than-optimal temperatures, organisms have evolved the conserved heat shock (HS) response (HSR), characterised by increased expression of specific...
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Double congratulations!
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
🧬We also show that maintenance of heterochromatin at the ap2-g locus depends on the sequences from the putative ap2-g promoter. ▶️Go ahead and take a look! You'll find more juicy details in the paper!! 🤗
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Heterochromatin formation is very efficient at var upstream sequences, but it is inefficient for ap2-g 5'CDS sequences, which require looooong DNA sequences and only occurs in a few parasites. Other sequences tested cannot nucleate heterochromatin formation at all! 🤪
media.tenor.com
a brown dog is sitting on a blanket and looking at the camera with the words `` wait what ? ''
ALT: a brown dog is sitting on a blanket and looking at the camera with the words `` wait what ? ''
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
💡We found that DNA sequences of genes such as ap2-g or var are sufficient to trigger heterochromatin formation when integrated in an euchromatic locus 😯
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
📣Rush to read our latest paper!! journals.plos.org/plospathogen.... You'll learn why #heterochromatin is formed and maintained in specific regions of the Plasmodium falciparum genome and not others 🧵⬇️
journals.plos.org
Heterochromatin de novo formation and maintenance in Plasmodium falciparum
Author summary Proper regulation of gene expression is crucial for the functioning of all organisms. One key mechanism involves modifications in the structure of chromatin, the DNA and proteins comple...
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Our colleagues and us have been abducted from the lab!!! 🆘👽 If you see these ISGlobaliens around Barcelona, don't be shy and ask for a ride in their fantastic UFO! 🤩🛸
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
📣📣See our new preprint in Biorxiv, in which we explore the role of the primary DNA sequence 🧬 in de novo heterochromatin formation and maintenance 🔍📊🧩 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Heterochromatin de novo formation and maintenance in P. falciparum
In the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, the expression of many genes is regulated by heterochromatin (HC) based on the histone mark tri-methylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9me3). HC assembly...
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CortesMalaria Lab @cortesmalaria.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Welcome to our new Bluesky account!!👋😊Lots of science and fun ahead! 🔬🧪🥼🤩
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