Expression of merozoite surface protein markers by Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in peripheral blood and tissues of children with fatal malaria

Abstract

Sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes is a pathological feature of fatal cerebral malaria. P. falciparum is genetically diverse among, and often within, patients. Preferential sequestration of certain genotypes might be important in pathogenesis. We compared circulating parasites with parasites sequestered in the brain, spleen, liver, and lung in the same Malawian children with fatal malaria, classifying serotypes using antibodies to merozoite surface proteins 1 and 2 and immunofluorescence in order to differentiate parasites and to quantify the proportions of each serotype. We found (i) similar distributions of various serotypes in different tissues and (ii) concordan..