Deformability of Plasmodium falciparum parasitized red blood cells

The biophysical properties of the human red blood cell (RBC) permit large deformations required for passage through narrow capillaries and spleen sinusoids. Several pathologic conditions alter RBC deformability that can result in abnormal circulation behavior. In the present work, altered RBC deformability caused by invading Plasmodium falciparum parasites, which are responsible for the disease malaria, is evaluated. P. falciparum parasitized RBCs (pRBCs) display decreased deformability and novel cytoadherence properties, and sequester in the microcirculation. Parasite-exported proteins that interact with the pRBC membrane are identified as the cause for these alterations. It is postulated that sequestration of pRBCs is responsible for severe cases malaria. Previous studies of pRBC deformability could not characterize deformability over all parasite intra-erythrocytic developmental stages due to experimental limitations. In the present work, a technique based on optical tweezers is developed to permit testing of pRBC deformability over all intra-erythrocytic stages. Optical tweezers can measure the force versus displacement response of a single RBC in uniaxial tension. The membrane shear modulus, which is a major factor in determining overall RBC deformability, can be interpreted based on the single RBC force versus displacement response.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Mills, John Philip, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Subra Suresh.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42972

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/42972