• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, August 29, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Extracellular vesicles play an important role in the pathology of malaria vivax

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 2, 2020
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

A new study shows that these vesicles promote parasite adhesion to spleen cells

IMAGE

Credit: del Portillo

Plasmodium vivax is the most widely distributed human malaria parasite, mostly outside sub-Saharan Africa, and responsible for millions of clinical cases yearly, including severe disease and death. The mechanisms by which P. vivax causes disease are not well understood. Recent evidence suggests that, similar to what has been observed with the more lethal P. falciparum, red blood cells infected by the parasite may accumulate in internal organs and that this could contribute to the pathology of the disease. In fact, the team led by Hernando A. del Portillo and Carmen Fernández-Becerra, recently showed that P. vivax-infected red blood cells adhere to human spleen fibroblasts thanks to the surface expression of certain parasite proteins, and that this expression is induced by the spleen itself. “These findings indicate that the spleen plays a dual role in malaria vivax,” says ICREA researcher Hernando A del Portillo. “On one hand, it eliminates infected red blood cells. On the other hand, it may serve as a “hiding” place for the parasite.” This could explain why P. vivax can cause severe disease in spite of low peripheral blood parasitemia.

To understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for this adhesion process, the research team turned its attention to something they have been working on for the last few years: extracellular vesicles. These small particles surrounded by a membrane are naturally released from almost any cell and play a role in communication between cells. There is increasing evidence that they could be involved in a wide range of pathologies, including parasitic diseases such as malaria. “Our new findings reveal, for what we believe is the first time, a physiological role of EVs in infectious diseases,” says del Portillo, last author of the study.

The research team isolated EVs from the blood of patients with acute P. vivax infection or from healthy volunteers and showed a very efficient uptake of the former by human spleen fibroblasts. Furthermore, this uptake induced the expression of a molecule (ICAM-1) on the surface of the fibroblast which in turn serves as an “anchor” for the adherence of P. vivax-infected red blood cells.

“Our study provide insights into the role of extracellular vesicles in malaria vivax and support the existence of parasite populations adhering to particular cells of the spleen, where they can multiply while not circulating in the blood” says Fernández-Becerra, senior co-author of the study. “Importantly, these hidden infections could represent an additional challenge to disease diagnosis and elimination efforts as they might be the source of asymptomatic infections,” she adds.

###

Media Contact
Adelaida Sarukhan
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16337-y

Tags: Disease in the Developing WorldInfectious/Emerging DiseasesMedicine/HealthParasitology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Revolutionizing Kidney Transplantation with Single Cell Techniques

August 29, 2025

Pregabalin May Cause Rare Visual Hallucinations

August 29, 2025

Enhancing Cone-Beam CT: GANs Improve Image Quality

August 29, 2025

Dual Modeling Strategies for Ion Channel Behavior

August 29, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    151 shares
    Share 60 Tweet 38
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    116 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    82 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Revolutionizing Kidney Transplantation with Single Cell Techniques

Unlocking Hoplia Beetles’ Microfluidic and Optical Secrets

Pregabalin May Cause Rare Visual Hallucinations

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.