Plasmodium knowlesi can adapt to infect Duffy-negative Erythrocytes - PubMed
5 days ago
- #malaria
- #Plasmodium knowlesi
- #Duffy-negative
- Plasmodium knowlesi, a zoonotic malaria species, is a growing public health concern in Southeast Asia.
- P. knowlesi can adapt to invade and replicate in Duffy-negative (Fy-) erythrocytes, bypassing the need for DARC.
- The adaptation is stable and allows the parasite to resist inhibition by a-DARC antibodies.
- A genomic recombination event between dbpα and dbpγ genes creates a chimeric gene dbpαγ, essential for Fy- erythrocyte invasion.
- CRISPR-Cas9 targeted reversion confirmed the role of dbpαγ in Fy- erythrocyte invasion.
- These findings highlight P. knowlesi's invasion plasticity and potential for spread beyond Southeast Asia.