Introduction
The Tolia lab study the molecular events that occur during erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium parasites. We use the tools of structural biology and biochemistry to examine proteins and protein complexes associated with these events.
Malaria causes an estimated 300-500 million cases and 1-3 million deaths annually, 80% of which are in children under the age of five. The clinical symptoms of malaria culminate upon red blood cell invasion by Plasmodium parasites, the etiological agents of Malaria. Therefore, preventing binding and invasion of the red blood cells is an attractive target for therapeutics.
Links
Publications
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Tolia NH, Enemark EJ, Sim BKL, Joshua-Tor L. "Structural basis for the EBA-175 erythrocyte invasion pathway of the malaria parasite P. falciparum." Cell (2005) Jul 29; 122(2):183-93
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Tolia NH, Joshua-Tor L. "Slicer and the Argonautes" Nature Chemical Biology (2007) Jan;3(1):36-43.
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Yigit E, Batista PJ, Bei Y, Pang KM, Chen CG, Tolia NH, Joshua-Tor L, Mitani S, Simard MJ, Mello CC. "Analysis of the C. elegans Argonaute family reveals that distinct Argonautes act sequentially during RNAi" Cell (2006) Nov 17;127(4):747-757.
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Irvine DV*, Zaratiegui M*, Tolia NH*, Goto DB, Chitwood DH, Vaughn MW, Joshua-Tor L, Martienssen RA "Argonaute slicing is required for heterochromatic silencing and spreading." Science (2006) Aug 25; 313(5790):1134-7.
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*co-first authors
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Tolia NH*, Joshua-Tor L. "Strategies for protein coexpression in Escherichia coli." Nature Methods (2006) Jan; 3(1):55-64
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*corresponding author
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Rivas FV*, Tolia NH*, Song JJ*, Aragon JP, Liu J, Hannon GJ, Joshua-Tor L. "Purified Argonaute2 and an siRNA form recombinant human RISC." Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2005) Apr; 12(4):340-9. Epub Mar 30.
Pubmed
*co-first authors
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Song JJ, Liu J, Tolia NH, Schneiderman J, Smith SK, Martienssen RA, Hannon GJ, Joshua-Tor L. "The crystal structure of the Argonaute2 PAZ domain reveals an RNA binding motif in RNAi effector complexes." Nature Structural Biology (2003) Dec; 10(12):1026-32. Epub Nov 16.
Pubmed