Bergen, S. van (2020) Loosening Malaria’s Deadly Grip: Increased phagocytosis of Plasmodium falciparum infected red blood cells by sickle-cell haemoglobin. Bachelor's Thesis, Life Science and Technology.
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Abstract
Malaria is a major global health problem, caused mainly by Plasmodium falciparum parasites. Immunity to malaria is only acquired after continued exposure to the parasite, but even then, the immunity is only partial. The individuals living in high endemic areas can experience symptomatic or asymptomatic infections. The latter can be caused by various blood conditions, including having the sickle-cell trait. This is a condition where individuals have one normal haemoglobin and one abnormal sickle haemoglobin gene. This abnormal haemoglobin has inhibitory mechanisms that protect an individual from developing severe malaria, with symptoms like seizures and ending possibly in death. The fact that sickle-cell carriers are protected against malaria is well known, however the mechanisms that cause this protection are not very well understood. This review, therefore, focusses on two main processes with which sickle-cell carriers are protected from severe malaria. The first is the increased sickling of Plasmodium infected red blood cells and the second is the decreased adherence of infected red blood cells to endothelial cells. Both mechanisms seem to increase the phagocytosis of infected red blood cells by the spleen and consequently reducing the risk of developing severe malaria. These findings are important to further the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the protection of sickle-cell carriers against malaria.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Tami, A. and Smit, J.M. |
| Degree programme: | Life Science and Technology |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2020 09:07 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Oct 2020 09:07 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/23475 |
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