Malaria in Pregnancy
Red blood cells infected with P. falciparum can stick to molecules on the surface of endothelial cells in various organs. During pregnancy, large number of parasitized RBCs can accumulate in the blood spaces of the placenta resulting in severe consequences for mother and baby. Inside red blood cells, parasites produce proteins that are transported to the cell surface. A protein called PfEMP1 enables parasites to adhere to particular receptors in the vascular beds of various organs such as the brain and placenta. These PfEMP1 proteins are very diverse, encoded by a family of genes termed var, and allow parasites to undergo antigenic variation to evade the immune response. We are presently examining how immunity develops despite the parasites evasion strategies, and what immune responses should be induced by a possible vaccine.
