Hemozoin induces neuronal injury primarily characterized by axon rupture and mitochondrial damage in experimental cerebral malaria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cerebral malaria (CM) is the most serious and fatal neurological complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection, which can cause death or long-term neurological sequelae. Neuronal injury is a primary cause of these sequelae in patients with CM; however, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. Hemozoin (Hz), the metabolic byproduct of hemoglobin digested by Plasmodium parasites, is closely associated with the severity of CM. However, it is not clear whether Hz is a direct contributor to neuronal injury.

Methods

C57BL/6 J mice were infected with the Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) strain to induce experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). Hz deposition and neuronal injury in ECM mice brain tissues were assessed using histopathological staining. In vitro,

SUBMITTER: Li T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12829028 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature