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Review
. 2017 Nov;179(4):543-556.
doi: 10.1111/bjh.14886. Epub 2017 Aug 23.

The role of the red blood cell in host defence against falciparum malaria: an expanding repertoire of evolutionary alterations

Morgan M Goheen  1 , Susana Campino  2 , Carla Cerami  3
Affiliations
Review

The role of the red blood cell in host defence against falciparum malaria: an expanding repertoire of evolutionary alterations

Morgan M Goheen et al. Br J Haematol. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

The malaria parasite has co-evolved with its human host as each organism struggles for resources and survival. The scars of this war are carried in the human genome in the form of polymorphisms that confer innate resistance to malaria. Clinical, epidemiological and genome-wide association studies have identified multiple polymorphisms in red blood cell (RBC) proteins that attenuate malaria pathogenesis. These include well-known polymorphisms in haemoglobin, intracellular enzymes, RBC channels, RBC surface markers, and proteins impacting the RBC cytoskeleton and RBC morphology. A better understanding of how changes in RBC physiology impact malaria pathogenesis may uncover new strategies to combat the disease.

Keywords: RBC; haemoglobinopathies; malaria; sickle cell trait; thalassaemia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Diagram of RBC and RBC proteins with known links to malaria pathogenesis. G6PD, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; GYPA, glycophorin A; GYPB, glycophorin B; GYPC, glycophorin C; PK, pyruvate kinase; RBC, red blood cell.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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