On cytoadhesion of Plasmodium vivax: raison d'être?

It is generally accepted that Plasmodium vivax, the most widely distributed human malaria parasite, causes mild disease and that this species does not sequester in the deep capillaries of internal organs. Recent evidence, however, has demonstrated that there is severe disease, sometimes resulting in...

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Main Authors: Fabio TM Costa, Stefanie CP Lopes, Mireia Ferrer, Juliana A Leite, Lorena Martin-Jaular, Maria Bernabeu, Paulo A Nogueira, Maria Paula G Mourão, Carmen Fernandez-Becerra, Marcus VG Lacerda, Hernando del Portillo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2011-08-01
Series:Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762011000900010&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:It is generally accepted that Plasmodium vivax, the most widely distributed human malaria parasite, causes mild disease and that this species does not sequester in the deep capillaries of internal organs. Recent evidence, however, has demonstrated that there is severe disease, sometimes resulting in death, exclusively associated with P. vivax and that P. vivax-infected reticulocytes are able to cytoadhere in vitro to different endothelial cells and placental cryosections. Here, we review the scarce and preliminary data on cytoadherence in P. vivax, reinforcing the importance of this phenomenon in this species and highlighting the avenues that it opens for our understanding of the pathology of this neglected human malaria parasite.
ISSN:1678-8060