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. 2015 Apr;21(4):314-7.
doi: 10.1038/nm.3812. Epub 2015 Mar 9.

RIFINs are adhesins implicated in severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Suchi Goel  1 , Mia Palmkvist  1 , Kirsten Moll  1 , Nicolas Joannin  1 , Patricia Lara  2 , Reetesh R Akhouri  1 , Nasim Moradi  2 , Karin Öjemalm  2 , Mattias Westman  1 , Davide Angeletti  1 , Hanna Kjellin  3 , Janne Lehtiö  3 , Ola Blixt  4 , Lars Ideström  5 , Carl G Gahmberg  6 , Jill R Storry  7 , Annika K Hult  7 , Martin L Olsson  7 , Gunnar von Heijne  2 , IngMarie Nilsson  2 , Mats Wahlgren  1
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RIFINs are adhesins implicated in severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Suchi Goel et al. Nat Med. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Rosetting is a virulent Plasmodium falciparum phenomenon associated with severe malaria. Here we demonstrate that P. falciparum-encoded repetitive interspersed families of polypeptides (RIFINs) are expressed on the surface of infected red blood cells (iRBCs), where they bind to RBCs--preferentially of blood group A--to form large rosettes and mediate microvascular binding of iRBCs. We suggest that RIFINs have a fundamental role in the development of severe malaria and thereby contribute to the varying global distribution of ABO blood groups in the human population.

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