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A Simple Protocol for Platelet-mediated Clumping of Plasmodium falciparum-infected Erythrocytes in a Resource Poor Setting
Published on: May 16, 2013
Ultrastructural damage to the malaria parasite in the sickled cell
Abstract:
The process by which malaria parasites are killed in sickled erythrocytes was studied by electron microscopy. In vitro cultures of Plasmodium falciparum in sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) homozygous (SS) and heterozygous (SA) red cells were deoxygenated for up to 6 h and fixed under anaerobic conditions. Parasites in SS cells appeared to be disrupted by intrusions of needle-like deoxyHbS aggregates; disintegration of cytoplasm and membranes followed. In SA red cells, the parasites were generally not disrupted. Instead, extensive vacuolization occurred, a sign of metabolic inhibition. The resistance of HbS gene carriers to malaria results partly from these causes of intracellular parasite death.
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