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Stretching and relaxation of malaria-infected red blood cells
Ting Ye1, Nhan Phan-Thien, Boo Cheong Khoo
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract:
The invasion of red blood cells (RBCs) by malaria parasites is a complex dynamic process, in which the infected RBCs gradually lose their deformability and their ability to recover their original shape is greatly reduced with the maturation of the parasites. In this work, we developed two types of cell model, one with an included parasite, and the other without an included parasite. The former is a representation of real malaria-infected RBCs, in which the parasite is treated as a rigid body. In the latter, where the parasite is absent, the membrane modulus and viscosity are elevated so as to produce the same features present in the parasite model. In both cases, the cell membrane is modeled as a viscoelastic triangular network connected by wormlike chains. We studied the transient behaviors of stretching deformation and shape relaxation of malaria-infected RBCs based on these two models and found that both models can generate results in agreement with those of previously published studies. With the parasite maturation, the shape deformation becomes smaller and smaller due to increasing cell rigidity, whereas the shape relaxation time becomes longer and longer due to the cell's reduced ability to recover its original shape.
Insights
Malaria infection reduces red blood cell (RBC) flexibility. This study models infected RBCs, revealing that parasite maturation increases cell rigidity and slows shape recovery, impacting RBC deformability.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Parasitology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Malaria infection significantly alters red blood cell (RBC) biomechanics.
- Infected RBCs exhibit reduced deformability and impaired shape recovery with parasite maturation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate computational models simulating the mechanical properties of malaria-infected RBCs.
- To investigate the impact of parasite maturation on RBC shape dynamics and viscoelasticity.
Main Methods:
- Developed two cell models: one with a rigid-body parasite, another with altered membrane properties to mimic infection.
- Modeled the RBC membrane as a viscoelastic triangular network with wormlike chains.
- Analyzed transient stretching deformation and shape relaxation behaviors.
Main Results:
- Both models accurately replicated previously published findings on infected RBC mechanics.
- Increasing parasite maturation correlated with decreased RBC shape deformation due to enhanced cell rigidity.
- Parasite maturation led to prolonged shape relaxation times, indicating reduced recovery ability.
Conclusions:
- Computational models effectively simulate malaria-infected RBC biomechanics.
- Parasite maturation progressively stiffens RBCs, hindering their ability to deform and recover shape.
- These findings offer insights into the physical changes of RBCs during malaria progression.
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