Revealing the impact of the lipid composition on PfEMP1-membrane interactions

Cerebral malaria is the most severe neurological complication of the infection by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. During the blood phase of the infection, which is responsible for the pathology of this disease, the parasites invade red blood cells (erythrocytes). Infected erythrocytes (IEs) express variable surface antigens known as Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane proteins 1 (PfEMP1). This adherence and accumulation of IEs at endothelial surface causes occlusion of blood vessels in the brain leading to lethal neurological complications. Here we propose NR measurements to investigate the location of two variants of the PfEMP1-A protein family, named HB3-var3 and PFD1235w, on lipid membranes. Our main goal is to shed light on the role played by the membrane lipid composition in favouring adsorption of PfEMP1 proteins on endothelial cell membranes.

脑型疟（Cerebral malaria）是恶性疟原虫（Plasmodium falciparum）感染引发的最严重的神经系统并发症。在介导该疾病病理发生的感染血液阶段，疟原虫会入侵红血细胞（erythrocytes，亦称红细胞）。受感染的红血细胞（缩写为IEs，即infected erythrocytes）会表达一类可变表面抗原，即恶性疟原虫红细胞膜蛋白1（Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1，缩写为PfEMP1）。受感染红血细胞在内皮表面的黏附与聚集会造成脑部血管阻塞，进而引发致命的神经系统并发症。本研究拟采用NR测量技术，探究PfEMP1-A蛋白家族的两个变异体——HB3-var3与PFD1235w在脂质膜上的定位情况。本研究的核心目标是阐明膜脂组成在促进PfEMP1蛋白吸附于内皮细胞膜过程中所发挥的作用。