1. Plasma From Older Children in Malawi Inhibits Plasmodium falciparum Binding in 3-Dimensional Brain Microvessels.
- Author
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Joof, Fatou, Hu, Ruoqian, Saidi, Alex, Seydel, Karl B, Cohee, Lauren M, Zheng, Ying, and Smith, Joseph D
- Subjects
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CEREBRAL malaria , *ANTIBODY formation , *YOUNG adults , *PLASMODIUM falciparum , *FLOW cytometry - Abstract
A hallmark of cerebral malaria is sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum -infected erythrocytes (IEs) in the brain microcirculation. Antibodies contribute to malaria immunity, but it remains unclear whether functional antibodies targeting parasite-expressed ligand can block cytoadhesion in the brain. Here, we screened the plasma of older children and young adults in Malawi to characterize the antibody response against the P. falciparum -IE surface and used a bioengineered 3-dimensional (3D) human brain microvessel model incorporating variable flow dynamics to measure adhesion-blocking responses. We found a strong correlation between surface antibody reactivity by flow cytometry and reduced P. falciparum -IE binding in 3D microvessels. Moreover, there was a threshold of surface antibody reactivity necessary to achieve robust inhibitory activity. Our findings provide evidence of the acquisition of adhesion-blocking antibodies against cerebral binding variants in people exposed to stable P. falciparum transmission and suggest the quality of the inhibitory response can be influenced by flow dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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