title: Active migration and passive transport of malaria parasites.
abstract: Malaria parasites undergo a complex life cycle between their hosts and vectors. During this cycle the parasites invade different types of cells, migrate across barriers, and transfer from one host to another. Recent literature hints at a misunderstanding of the difference between active, parasite-driven migration and passive, circulation-driven movement of the parasite or parasite-infected cells in the various bodily fluids of mosquito and mammalian hosts. Because both active migration and passive transport could be targeted in different ways to interfere with the parasite, a distinction between the two ways the parasite uses to get from one location to another is essential. We discuss the two types of motion needed for parasite dissemination and elaborate on how they could be targeted by future vaccines or drugs.
authors.affiliation: Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ross G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.affiliation: Unité de Biologie et Génétique du Paludisme, Département Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut Pasteur, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Rogerio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amino
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Photini
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sinnis
authors.affiliation: Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: freddy.frischknecht@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Freddy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Frischknecht
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009033:Culicidae / Q000469:parasitology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology*; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D034101:Sporozoites / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials
keywords: active migration; drug targeting; parasite dissemination; passive transport; vaccine design