Toxoplasma need a plasma membrane ion exchanger (right) for a speedy exit.
The increase in Ca2+ levels, which can be induced artificially with an ionophore, triggers a series of morphological changes that primes Toxoplasma for both exit and a speedy entrance into a neighboring cell. Death can ensue, however, if the ionophore sticks around while there is no target cell for the parasite to enter; presumably the overstimulated Toxoplasma cannot sustain itself in an activated state.
The authors used this death assay to isolate a mutant...
The Rockefeller University Press
2004
The Rockefeller University Press
2004
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