title: Rodent Plasmodium-infected red blood cells: imaging their fates and interactions within their hosts.
abstract: Malaria, a disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite, remains one of the most deadly infectious diseases known to mankind. The parasite has a complex life cycle, of which only the erythrocytic stage is responsible for the diverse pathologies induced during infection. To date, the disease mechanisms that underlie these pathologies are still poorly understood. In the case of infections caused by Plasmodium falciparum, the species responsible for most malaria related deaths, pathogenesis is thought to be due to the sequestration of infected red blood cells (IRBCs) in deep tissues. Other human and rodent malaria parasite species are also known to exhibit sequestration. Here, we review the different techniques that allow researchers to study how rodent malaria parasites modify their host cells, the distribution of IRBCs in vivo as well as the interactions between IRBCs and host tissues.
authors.affiliation: Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Biopolis, 136648 Singapore.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Claser
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Malleret
authors.forename: Kaitian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bakocevic
authors.forename: Sin Yee
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Gun
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: Lai Guan
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rénia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D012377:Rodentia
keywords: Imaging; MRI; Microscopy; Positron-emission tomography; Rodent malaria