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Malaria
Malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, transmitted through the bite of an infected female mosquito, disables hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year. Parasites, called sporozoites, travel to the liver; mature and release another form, the merozoites. These enter the bloodstream, infect red blood cells and then rupture, infecting more red blood cells. By remodelling red blood cells (RBCs), the malaria parasite renders them stiff and sticky. It causes the RBCs to undergo structural and morphological changes, dramatically altering their physical properties and impairing circulation. In contrast to normal RBCs, parasitized RBCs are rigid and adhere to the lining of the blood vessels and other cell types.
Once the parasite infects RBCs, it produces proteins which are then exported across the membrane: P. facliparum erythrocyte membrane protein (PfEMP1), which allows infected cells to stick to blood vessels, and knobs made up of a second protein (knob associated histidine-rich protein or KAHRP).
The University of Copenhagen recently published a paper in the Journal of Immunology using Cellix's platform: Download Paper
Chondroitin Sulfate A-Adhering Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Express Functionally Important Antibody Epitopes Shared by Multiple Variants
Lea Barfod, Tina Dobrilovic, Pamela Magistrado, Pongsak, Khunrae, Firmine Viwami, Jonas Bruun, Madeleine Dahlback, Nadia L. Bernasconi, Michal Fried, Davis John, Patrick E. Dufy, Ali Salanti, Antonio Lanzavecchia,
Chwee Teck Lim, Nicaise Tuikue Ndam, Matthew K. Higgins and Lars Hviid.*
Red Blood Cells infected with malaria parasite flowing through ICAM coated biochip at 0.5 dyne/cm²
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Using the Cellix Ltd VenaFluxTM Platform to perform flow assays, together with static assays, were employed to evaluated the capacity of the human mAbs to interfere with CSA-specific adhesion of the infected erythrocytes (IEs). Overall, results underpin the hypothesis that few Ab specificities are sufficient to substantially interfere with receptor-specific adhesion of IEs to CSA.
*Centre for Medical Parasitology, Department of International Health, Immunology, and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen.
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