Malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium move ten times faster through the skin than immune cells, whose job it is to capture such pathogens. Heidelberg scientists have now found a reason why the parasite is faster than its counterpart. They did this by studying actin, a protein that is important to the structure and movement of cells and that is built differently in parasites and mammals.

The findings of Ross Douglas and his colleagues at the Centre for Infectious Diseases (Department of Parasitology) at Heidelberg University Hospital, the Centre for Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg (ZMBH), and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) are not only changing our understanding of a key component of all living cells, but they also provide information that could help in the discovery of new drugs.

Like Lego blocks, which can be put together into long chains, actin is assembled into long rope-like structures called filaments. These filaments are important for the proper functioning of cells — such as muscle cells — and enable each of our movements. However, they also serve to enable immune system cells to move and capture invading pathogens.

Likewise, they are of great importance for the movement of the malaria parasite. “Strangely enough, malaria parasites are ten times nimbler than the fastest of our immune cells and literally outrun our immune defences. If we understand this important difference in movement, we can target and stop the parasite,” says Dr. Ross Douglas from the Heidelberg Centre for Infectious Diseases. A key issue in the paper published in the journal PLOS Biology is how the rate at which actin filaments are formed and broken down differs between parasites and mammals.







https://medfort.com.ng/how-plasmodium-move-ten-times-faster-through-the-skin-than-immune-cells/