Malaria invasion of human erythrocytes

The invasion of human red blood cells (RBC) by plosmodiol merozoites is a key event during malaria infection, and the inhibition o f invasion is regarded as a crucial goal of malaria vaccine development. For Plasmodium falciparum it has been suggested that the red cell sialoglycoproteins, glycophorins A, B and C, are receptors for invasion and that O-linked or N-linked carbohydrate structures may be involved as receptor sites(1-3). However, recent evidence suggests that the role o f these sialoglycoproteins and carbohydrates may have been overestimated. In this article, Peter Hermentin discusses the contradictory findings and presents a revised model for the invasion process.