Abstract
Cerebral malaria, a severe complication of malaria, is caused by the obstruction of cerebral microvessels by Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Such cells adhere to endothelial cells by means of "knobs" induced on the red cell membrane by the parasites. When atomic force microscopy was used to investigate the structure of the knobs of unfixed infected red cells, each knob was found to consist of two distinct subunits, knob components that have never been seen in chemically fixed knobs examined by conventional transmission electron microscopy. Surface potential spectroscopy revealed that the knobs have a positive charge (+20 mV), whereas the remainder of the red cell plasma membrane is negatively charged. Since endothelial plasma membranes have a negative charge, the charge difference between knobs and endothelium may play a significant role in cytoadherence between the two cell types. The subunit structure of the knobs may be a steric necessity to align adherence molecules so that they can exert their effect. This study shows that the atomic force microscope has great potential for examination of cells in their native state; in combination with surface potential spectroscopy, it may uncover fundamental processes and m...Continue Reading
Citations
Mar 2, 2006·Blood·Melanie RugAlan F Cowman
Apr 21, 2010·Malaria Journal·Lars M JoergensenDavid E Arnot
Sep 13, 2012·PloS One·Pragyan AcharyaUtpal Tatu
Jan 5, 2002·Free Radical Research·A E AlegríaE Cordones
Nov 12, 2015·BioMed Research International·Eri H HayakawaHiroyuki Matsuoka
May 3, 2015·IEEE Transactions on Nanobioscience·Rashmi MukherjeeChandan Chakraborty
Jul 31, 2013·Parasitology International·Carla ClaserLaurent Rénia
Nov 29, 2016·Nature Reviews. Microbiology·Mariana De NizVolker T Heussler
May 12, 2017·APMIS : Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica, Et Immunologica Scandinavica·Casper Hempel
Feb 4, 2003·Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciências·Thaïs Souto-Padrón
Feb 20, 2017·Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta. Molecular Cell Research·Zhiqiang ZhangWeiying Jiang
Feb 23, 2010·The Analyst·Mehdi Asghari-KhiaviDon McNaughton
Jul 28, 2010·Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing·Jakob M A MauritzClemens F Kaminski
Jan 12, 2013·Nanoscale·Juan José Valle-DelgadoXavier Fernàndez-Busquets
Aug 9, 2013·Lab on a Chip·E DuAnantha P Chandrakasan
Apr 3, 2018·Journal of Microscopy·L ScudieroC E Suarez
Feb 11, 2020·Frontiers in Physiology·Mallorie DepondPapa Alioune Ndour
Apr 15, 2000·Microbial Pathogenesis·K AhmedT Nagatake
Mar 8, 2006·Journal of Microbiological Methods·Ang LiC T Lim
Nov 15, 2011·Nano Letters·Priscilla Kailian AngKian Ping Loh