Hemoglobin degradation in Plasmodium-infected red blood cells.

Intraerythrocytic malaria parasites (Plasmodia) degrade enormous amounts of hemoglobin during a short period of their life cycle. The process involves ingestion of red blood cell cytoplasm through the cytostome, delivery to acidic digestive vacuoles and sequential, efficient proteolysis by a set of specific hydrolases. Amino acids are generated for the growth and maturation of the organism; the heme byproduct is sequestered into a crystalline lattice called hemozoin. These specialized functions makes the digestive vacuole a prime target for antimalarial chemotherapy.