Effect of malaria parasite shape on its alignment at erythrocyte membrane.

ABSTRACT: During the blood stage of malaria pathogenesis, parasites invade healthy red blood cells (RBC) to multiply inside the host and evade the immune response. When attached to RBC, the parasite first has to align its apex with the membrane for a successful invasion. Since the parasite's apex sits at the pointed end of an oval (egg-like) shape with a large local curvature, apical alignment is in general an energetically unfavorable process. Previously, using coarse-grained mesoscopic simulations, we have shown that optimal alignment time is achieved due to RBC membrane deformation and the stochastic nature of bond-based interactions between the parasite and RBC membrane (Hillringhaus et al., 2020). Here, we demonstrate that the parasite's shape has a prominent effect on the alignment process. Th

SUBMITTER: Dasanna AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8331178 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature