Hemoglobin Serves to Protect Plasmodium Parasites from Nitric Oxide and Reactive Oxygen Species

ABSTRACTOur understanding of how the host immune response kills Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, is limited and controversial. One widely held belief is that reactive oxygen species are crucial for controlling parasite replication. One of the hallmarks of blood-stage malaria is the cyclic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Investigative Medicine 2005-07, Vol.53 (5), p.246-252
Main Authors: Sobolewski, Peter, Gramaglia, Irene, Frangos, John A., Intaglietta, Marcos, van der Heyde, Henri C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Blood substitutes
Endothelium
Erythrocytes
Erythrocytes - parasitology
Free Radical Scavengers - metabolism
Hemoglobins - metabolism
Host-Parasite Interactions
Immune system
Infections
Malaria
Nitrates
Nitric oxide
Nitric Oxide - metabolism
Oxidation
Oxygen
Parasites
Parasitic diseases
Plasmodium - physiology
Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism
Rodents
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Summary:ABSTRACTOur understanding of how the host immune response kills Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, is limited and controversial. One widely held belief is that reactive oxygen species are crucial for controlling parasite replication. One of the hallmarks of blood-stage malaria is the cyclic rupture of erythrocytes by the parasite, which releases free hemoglobin into the circulation. We propose that this free hemoglobin, as well as the hemoglobin within the erythrocyte and surrounding the parasite, effectively shields Plasmodium from reactive oxygen species well in excess of those achievable in vivo.
ISSN:1081-5589
1708-8267
DOI:10.2310/6650.2005.53507