Accounting for red blood cell accessibility reveals distinct invasion strategies in Plasmodium falciparum strains.

ABSTRACT: The growth of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in human blood causes all the symptoms of malaria. To proliferate, non-motile parasites must have access to susceptible red blood cells, which they invade using pairs of parasite ligands and host receptors that define invasion pathways. Parasites can switch invasion pathways, and while this flexibility is thought to facilitate immune evasion, it may also reflect the heterogeneity of red blood cell surfaces within and between hosts. Host genetic background affects red blood cell structure, for example, and red blood cells also undergo dramatic changes in morphology and receptor density as they age. The in vivo consequences of both the accessibility of susceptible cells, and their heterogeneous susceptibility, remain unclear. Here, we

SUBMITTER: Cai FY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7194430 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature