CTSL and infection: Interestingly, we rarely observed colocalization of GFP ingested protein and the VAC marker cathepsin L (CPL) upon 30 minutes of infection (Fig. 5E) in parasites downregulated in TgVps45, indicating that endosomes containing ingested proteins are incapable of fusing with the VAC compartment, akin to the endocytic vesicle transport phenotype observed after inactivation of VPS45 in P. falciparum (15).