Journal Article

FZJ-2019-04771

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Importance of Erythrocyte Deformability for the Alignment of Malaria Parasite upon Invasion

Hillringhaus, S.FZJ* ; Dasanna, A. K.FZJ* ; Gompper, G.FZJ* ; Fedosov, D. A. (Corresponding author)FZJ*

2019
Soc. Bethesda, Md.

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/23177  doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2019.08.027

Abstract: Invasion of erythrocytes by merozoites is an essential step for the survival and progression of malaria parasites. To invade red blood cells (RBCs), apicomplexan parasites have to adhere with their apex to the RBC membrane. This necessary apex-membrane contact (or alignment) is not immediately established because the orientation of a free merozoite with respect to the RBC membrane is random when an adhesion contact first occurs. Therefore, it has been suggested that after the initial adhesion, merozoites facilitate their proper alignment by inducing considerable membrane deformations, frequently observed before the invasion process. This proposition is based on a positive correlation between RBC membrane deformation and successful invasion; however, the role of RBC mechanics and its deformation in the alignment process remains elusive. Using a mechanically realistic model of a deformable RBC, we investigate numerically the importance of RBC deformability for merozoite alignment. Adhesion between the parasite and RBC membrane is modeled by an attractive potential that might be inhomogeneous, mimicking possible adhesion gradients at the surface of a parasite. Our results show that RBC membrane deformations are crucial for successful merozoite alignment and require interaction strengths comparable to adhesion forces measured experimentally. Adhesion gradients along the parasite body further improve its alignment. Finally, an increased membrane rigidity is found to result in poor merozoite alignment, which can be a possible reason for a reduction in the invasion susceptibility of RBCs in several blood diseases associated with membrane stiffening.

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Theorie der Weichen Materie und Biophysik (ICS-2)
2. JARA - HPC (JARA-HPC)

Research Program(s):

1. 552 - Engineering Cell Function (POF3-552) (POF3-552)
2. Formation of Polymer-Particle Aggregates in Blood Flow (jiff44_20180501) (jiff44_20180501)

Appears in the scientific report 2019

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Database coverage:
; ; ; BIOSIS Previews ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; NCBI Molecular Biology Database ; PubMed Central ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection

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