Malaria parasites undergo a rapid and extensive metamorphosis after invasion of the host erythrocyte
Within the human host, the symptoms of malaria are caused by the replication of malaria parasites within erythrocytes. Growth inside the erythrocyte exposes the parasites to the normal surveillance of erythrocytes by the host organism, in particular the clearance of erythrocytes in the spleen. Here we show that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum undergoes a rapid, multi-step metamorphosis that transforms the invasive merozoite into an amoeboid-shaped cell within minutes after invading erythrocytes. This transformation involves an increase in the parasite surface area and is mediated by factors already present in the merozoite, including the parasite phospholipid transfer protein PV6. Parasites lacking PV6 do not assume an amoeboid form and instead are spherical and have a smaller surface area than amoeboid forms. Furthermore, erythrocytes infected with P. falciparum parasites lacking PV6 undergo a higher loss of surface area upon infection, which affects the traversal of infected erythrocytes through the spleen. This is the first evidence that after invasion, the parasite undergoes a rapid, complex metamorphosis within the host erythrocyte that promotes survival in the host.
Authors
- Papa Alioune Ndour (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7203-9754)
- Abdoulaye Sissoko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9986-0494)
- Christiaan van Ooij (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6099-6183)
- Pierre Buffet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4010-929X)
- Matthew J. Hayes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1651-0956)
- Lucy Collinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0260-613X)
- Aurélie Fricot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8648-2770)
- Matthew R. G. Russell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4608-7669)
- Aïssatou Diallo
- Aline Fréville (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0982-5688)
- Flávia Moreira-Leite (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5691-140X)
- Margarida Ressurreição
- Sue Vaughan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0925-4491)
- Michael J. Blackman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7442-3810)
- Camille Roussel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0194-7696)
- Safi Dokmak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3335-4388)
- Valentine Carret (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5656-361X)
- Nicole Cristine Kerkhoven
Institutions
- Délégation Paris 5 (FR)
- Oxford Brookes University (GB)
- University of London (GB)
- Inserm (FR)
- King's College London (GB)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Hôpital Beaujon (FR)
- The Francis Crick Institute (GB)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR)
- Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR)
- Institute of Ophthalmology (MX)
- Biologie intégrée du globule rouge et de l'Erythropoïèse (FR)
- University College London (GB)
- Keele University (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- EMBO Reports
- Published
- 2025-04-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-025-00435-3
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Malaria Research and Control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.88
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Cancer Research UK
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
- Medical Research Council