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The erythrocyte membrane properties of beta thalassaemia heterozygotes and their consequences for Plasmodium falciparum invasion

Abstract:

Malaria parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum have exerted formidable selective pressures on the human genome. Of the human genetic variants associated with malaria protection, beta thalassaemia (a haemoglobinopathy) was the earliest to be associated with malaria prevalence. However, the malaria protective properties of beta thalassaemic erythrocytes remain unclear. Here we studied the mechanics and surface protein expression of beta thalassaemia heterozygous erythrocytes, measured their susceptibility to P. falciparum invasion, and calculated the energy required for merozoites to invade them. We found invasion-relevant differences in beta thalassaemic cells versus matched controls, specifically: elevated membrane tension, reduced bending modulus, and higher levels of expression of the major invasion receptor basigin. However, these differences acted in opposition to each other with respect to their likely impact on invasion, and overall we did not observe beta thalassaemic cells to have lower P. falciparum invasion efficiency for any of the strains tested.

Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1038/s41598-022-12060-4

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Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0001-9012-4696
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Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-4903-6392
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Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0001-7464-4333
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Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-0801-5285


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Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/029chgv08
Grant:
096063/Z/11/Z
20485/Z/16/Z


Publisher:
Springer Nature
Journal:
Scientific Reports More from this journal
Volume:
12
Issue:
1
Article number:
8934
Publication date:
2022-05-27
Acceptance date:
2022-05-03
DOI:
EISSN:
2045-2322
Pmid:
35624125


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1262366
Local pid:
pubs:1262366
Deposit date:
2024-09-30
ARK identifier:

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