High resolution 3D perspective of Plasmodium biology: Advancing into a new era

Shiri Eshar, Noa Dahan-Pasternak, Allon Weiner, Ron Dzikowski

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Apicomplexan parasites exhibit a great variety of complex life cycles that require adaptation to different niches of parasitism. They invade different host cells and highjack their biological functions. Plasmodium falciparum, responsible for the deadliest form of human malaria, causes disease while completely remodeling the erythrocytes of its human host through mechanisms that are only partly understood. Recent developments in ultrastructural technologies offer new opportunities to investigate fundamental aspects in the biology of the parasite in a three-dimensional (3D) perspective. Here we bring together recent work on host cell invasion, hemoglobin uptake, protein export and nuclear dynamics. A comprehensive 3D view of the ultrastructural biology of the parasite may shed new light on cellular mechanisms that underlie the pathogenicity of P. falciparum.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)548-554
Number of pages7
JournalTrends in Parasitology
Volume27
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Parasitology
  • Infectious Diseases

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