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Infection and Immunity, July 2000, p. 4135-4144, Vol. 68, No. 7
Divisions of
Parasitology1 and Membrane
Biology,2 National Institute for Medical
Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, United Kingdom
Received 29 November 1999/Returned for modification 11 February
2000/Accepted 13 April 2000
Adherence of erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium
falciparum to microvascular endothelial cells (sequestration) is
considered to play an important role in parasite virulence and
pathogenesis. However, the real importance of sequestration for
infection and disease has never been fully assessed. The absence of an
appropriate in vivo model for sequestration has been a major barrier.
We have examined the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium chabaudi
chabaudi AS in mice as a potential model. Erythrocytes infected
with this parasite adhere in vitro to purified CD36, a critical
endothelium receptor for binding P. falciparum-infected
erythrocytes. P. c. chabaudi-infected erythrocytes adhere
in vitro to endothelial cells in a gamma interferon-dependent manner,
suggesting the involvement of additional adhesion molecules in the
binding process, as is also the case with P. falciparum-infected cells. Furthermore, plasma or sera from
infected and hyperimmune mice, respectively, have the ability to block
binding of infected erythrocytes to endothelial cells. In vivo,
erythrocytes containing mature P. c. chabaudi parasites are
sequestered from the peripheral circulation. Sequestration is organ
specific, occurring primarily in the liver, although intimate contact
between infected erythrocytes and endothelial cells is also observed in
the spleen and brain. The results are discussed in the context of the
use of this model to study (i) the relationship between endothelial
cell activation and the level of sequestration and (ii) the primary
function of sequestration in malaria infection.
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Plasmodium chabaudi-Infected
Erythrocytes Adhere to CD36 and Bind to Microvascular Endothelial Cells
in an Organ-Specific Way
and
*
Corresponding author. Present address: Department of
Pathology, NYU School of Medicine (MSB 131), 550 First Ave., New York, NY 10016. Phone: (212) 263-5346. Fax: (212) 263-8179. E-mail: motam01{at}mcrcr.med.nyu.edu.
Present address: Department of Biology, William Patersol
University, Wayne, NJ 07470.
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