Plasmodium splenic cytoadherence in the malarial infection

• Grant number: 13/19667-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: November 18, 2013
• End date: December 05, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Trindade Maranhão Costa
• Grantee: Fabio Trindade Maranhão Costa
• Visiting researcher: Rogerio Amino
• Visiting researcher institution: Institut Pasteur, France
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 12/16525-2 - Plasmodium vivax: pathogenesis and infectivity, AP.TEM

Abstract

All malaria symptoms are a consequence of the iterative cycles of red blood cell invasion by the parasite. One of the characteristics of the infected red blood cell is its capacity to cytoadhere in vitro on endothelial cells (EC) of the microvasculature. Although, in vivo studies tend to analyze accumulation-retention of parasites in diverse organs, and cytoadherence can only be indirectly inferred. Therefore, direct and in vivo evidence of parasite cytoadherence to EC is still lacking, as well as, its causal relationship with sequestration and disease. Recently in rodent malaria model, it has been shown that the characteristic pattern of mature infected red blood cells (miRBC) accumulation in the lungs and adipose tissues of infected mice was lost in animals lacking CD36, a ligand involved in the parasite binding to EC. The most accepted hypothesis about the role of miRBC sequestration in the Plasmodium biology suggests that the parasite adhere to the microvasculature of deep organs to avoid clearance mediated by the spleen. Herein, in collaboration with Dr. Fabio Costa's group at UNICAMP, we aim to determine if this accumulation of splenic parasites is due to a mechanical trapping or, alternatively, relies on the parasite cytoadherence to splenic endothelial cells. In a second step, we intend to follow these splenic parasites in a longitudinal study to determine if they are being cleared or, conversely, if they are developing in the spleen. (AU)