Chondroitin

Cross-reactive surface epitopes on chondroitin sulfate A-adherent Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes are associated with transcription of var2csa.

Elliott SR, Duffy MF, Byrne TJ, Beeson JG, Mann EJ, Wilson DW, Rogerson SJ, Brown GV.

Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria 3050 Australia. salenna@unimelb.edu.au

Malaria in pregnancy is associated with placental accumulation of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IE) that adhere to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA). Adhesion is mediated by P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), a variant parasite protein expressed on the surface of IE and encoded by var genes. Rabbit antiserum was generated against the CSA-adherent P. falciparum line CS2, in which the dominant var transcribed is var2csa, a relatively conserved var gene that has been associated with CSA adhesion. Anti-CS2 recognized genetically distinct CSA-adherent P. falciparum lines but not CD36-adherent parent lines. Reactivity with anti-CS2 correlated with the level of adhesion to CSA. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting according to binding of anti-CS2 showed reactivity was associated with CSA adhesion and transcription of var2csa. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that var2csa encodes a PfEMP1 expressed on the surface of IE, which mediates adhesion to CSA and is relatively conserved between genetically distinct strains of P. falciparum.

PMID: 15845490 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]