• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Reversible host cell remodeling underpins deformability changes in malaria parasite sexual blood stages
  • Contributor: Dearnley, Megan; Chu, Trang; Zhang, Yao; Looker, Oliver; Huang, Changjin; Klonis, Nectarios; Yeoman, Jeff; Kenny, Shannon; Arora, Mohit; Osborne, James M.; Chandramohanadas, Rajesh; Zhang, Sulin; Dixon, Matthew W. A.; Tilley, Leann
  • Published: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016
  • Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113 (2016) 17, Seite 4800-4805
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1520194113
  • ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>Significance</jats:title> <jats:p> This study provides, to our knowledge, the first ultrastructural and dynamics analysis of the host red blood cell membrane of <jats:italic>Plasmodium falciparum</jats:italic> gametocytes, revealing reversible expansion of the spectrin–actin skeleton, accompanied by reversible modulation of skeletal coupling to the plasma membrane. We use the measured physical parameters to inform a computationally efficient coarse-grained model. This model shows that restructuring the skeletal meshwork can fully account for the observed deformability changes. We reveal a critical role for actin remodeling in driving this reversible biomechanical host cell subversion. This work provides fundamental insights into the molecular changes that underpin gametocyte survival in the circulation. </jats:p>
  • Access State: Open Access