Project Details
Projekt
Modeling the adhesion of malaria-infected red blood cells (04)
Subject Area
Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
Term
since 2014
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 240245660
The main aim of this project is to uncover how Plasmodium falciparum remodels infected red blood cells over the time course of the 48 hours infectious cycle to make them adhesive and thereby to avoid clearance by the spleen. While in the first funding period we have focused on cell shape and mechanics, in the second funding period, we have measured the molecular dynamics of the adhesion receptor PfEMP1 and the multi-functional protein KAHRP, which is the main component of the adhesive knobs. In the third funding period, we aim at proving our hypotheses that KAHRP-localization is governed by phosphorylation and that phos-phorylated KAHRP binds with a host factor to form the spiral scaffold underlying the adhesive knobs.
DFG Programme
Collaborative Research Centres
Applicant Institution
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Project Heads
Professor Dr. Michael Lanzer; Professor Dr. Ulrich Schwarz
