Platelets kill circulating parasites of all major <i>Plasmodium</i> species in human malaria.

ABSTRACT: Platelets are understood to assist host innate immune responses against infection, although direct evidence of this function in any human disease, including malaria, is unknown. Here we characterized platelet-erythrocyte interactions by microscopy and flow cytometry in patients with malaria naturally infected with Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, or Plasmodium knowlesi Blood samples from 376 participants were collected from malaria-endemic areas of Papua, Indonesia, and Sabah, Malaysia. Platelets were observed binding directly with and killing intraerythrocytic parasites of each of the Plasmodium species studied, particularly mature stages, and was greatest in P vivax patients. Platelets preferentially bound to the infe

SUBMITTER: Kho S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6161646 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature