Acquisition of human plasminogen facilitates complement evasion by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Timo Reiss; Hannah I Theis; Andres Gonzalez-Delgado; Joel Vega-Rodriguez; Peter F Zipfel; Christine Skerka; Gabriele Pradel

doi:10.1002/eji.202048718

Acquisition of human plasminogen facilitates complement evasion by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Eur J Immunol. 2021 Feb;51(2):490-493. doi: 10.1002/eji.202048718. Epub 2020 Nov 15.

Authors

Timo Reiss¹, Hannah I Theis¹, Andres Gonzalez-Delgado², Joel Vega-Rodriguez³, Peter F Zipfel², Christine Skerka², Gabriele Pradel¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology, Institute of Zoology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
² Department of Infection Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knöll-Institute, Jena, Germany.
³ Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA.

PMID: 33022775
DOI: 10.1002/eji.202048718

Abstract

We show that the intraerythrocytic stages of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum bind plasminogen and mediate its conversion into plasmin to inactivate parasite-bound C3b. This complement evasion mechanism counteracts terminal complex formation and hence promotes parasite survival in human blood.

Keywords: Complement system; Immune evasion; Malaria; Plasmodium falciparum; plasminogen.

Publication types

Letter
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Complement C3b / immunology*
Host-Parasite Interactions / immunology
Humans
Immune Evasion / immunology*
Malaria, Falciparum / immunology*
Malaria, Falciparum / parasitology
Plasmodium falciparum / immunology*

Substances

Complement C3b

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding