rHRP-2 (P. falciparum)

HRP2 is a surface malaria protein. The antigen is expressed only by P. falciparum trophozoites. It is an histidine- and alanine-rich protein, which is localized in several cell compartments including the parasite cytoplasm. It is characterised by many contiguous repeats of the sequences AHH and AHHAAD. The histidine-rich protein 2 from P. falciparum has been implicated as a haeme polymerase which detoxifies free haeme by its polymerization to inactive haemozoin (Lynn et al., 1999).