Host cell deformability is linked to transmission in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

available in PMC 2013 July 01.

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aingaran, Mythili (Author), Zhang, Rou (Contributor), Law, Sue KaYee (Author), Peng, Zhangli (Contributor), Undisz, Andreas (Contributor), Meyer, Evan (Author), Diez Silva, Monica (Contributor), Burke, Thomas A. (Author), Spielmann, Tobias (Author), Lim, Chwee Teck (Contributor), Suresh, Subra (Contributor), Dao, Ming (Contributor), Marti, Matthias (Author)
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Contributor), Singapore-MIT Alliance in Research and Technology (SMART) (Contributor)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, 2013-08-08T16:48:09Z.
Subjects:
Online Access:Get fulltext
LEADER 03686 am a22004693u 4500
001 79805
042 |a dc 
100 1 0 |a Aingaran, Mythili  |e author 
100 1 0 |a Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Singapore-MIT Alliance in Research and Technology   |q  (SMART)   |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Zhang, Rou  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Peng, Zhangli  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Undisz, Andreas  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Diez Silva, Monica  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Lim, Chwee Teck  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Suresh, Subra  |e contributor 
100 1 0 |a Dao, Ming  |e contributor 
700 1 0 |a Zhang, Rou  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Law, Sue KaYee  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Peng, Zhangli  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Undisz, Andreas  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Meyer, Evan  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Diez Silva, Monica  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Burke, Thomas A.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Spielmann, Tobias  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Lim, Chwee Teck  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Suresh, Subra  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Dao, Ming  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Marti, Matthias  |e author 
245 0 0 |a Host cell deformability is linked to transmission in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum 
260 |b Wiley-Blackwell Publishers,   |c 2013-08-08T16:48:09Z. 
856 |z Get fulltext  |u http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79805 
520 |a available in PMC 2013 July 01. 
520 |a Gametocyte maturation in Plasmodium falciparum is a critical step in the transmission of malaria. While the majority of parasites proliferate asexually in red blood cells, a small fraction of parasites undergo sexual conversion and mature over 2 weeks to become competent for transmission to a mosquito vector. Immature gametocytes sequester in deep tissues while mature stages must be able to circulate, pass the spleen and present themselves to the mosquito vector in order to complete transmission. Sequestration of asexual red blood cell stage parasites has been investigated in great detail. These studies have demonstrated that induction of cytoadherence properties through specific receptor-ligand interactions coincides with a significant increase in host cell stiffness. In contrast, the adherence and biophysical properties of gametocyte-infected red blood cells have not been studied systematically. Utilizing a transgenic line for 3D live imaging, in vitro capillary assays and 3D finite element whole cell modelling, we studied the role of cellular deformability in determining the circulatory characteristics of gametocytes. Our analysis shows that the red blood cell deformability of immature gametocytes displays an overall decrease followed by rapid restoration in mature gametocytes. Intriguingly, simulations suggest that along with deformability variations, the morphological changes of the parasite may play an important role in tissue distribution in vivo. Taken together, we present a model, which suggests that mature but not immature gametocytes circulate in the peripheral blood for uptake in the mosquito blood meal and transmission to another human host thus ensuring long-term survival of the parasite. 
520 |a National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (R01A107755801) 
520 |a National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (R01HL094270) 
520 |a Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology ((SMART) Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Group) 
520 |a Singapore-MIT Alliance (Advanced Materials for Micro and Nano Systems Programme) 
520 |a Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship) 
546 |a en_US 
655 7 |a Article 
773 |t Cellular Microbiology