Plasmodium sporozoite shows distinct motility patterns in responses to three-dimensional environments

Zhenhui Liu, Songman Li, Pooja Anantha, Tassanee Thanakornsombut, Lintong Wu, Junjie Chen, Ryohma Tsuchiya, Abhai K. Tripathi, Yun Chen, Ishan Barman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

During malaria infection, Plasmodium sporozoites, the fast-moving stage of the parasite, are injected by a mosquito into the skin of the mammalian host. In the skin, sporozoites need to migrate through the dermal tissue to enter the blood vessel. Sporozoite motility is critical for infection but not well understood. Here, we used collagen hydrogels with tunable fiber structures, as an in vitro model for the skin. After injecting sporozoites into the hydrogel, we analyzed their motility in three-dimension (3D). We found that sporozoites demonstrated chiral motility, in that they mostly follow right-handed helical trajectories. In high-concentration collagen gel, sporozoites have lower instantaneous speed, but exhibit straighter tracks compared to low-concentration collagen gel, which leads to longer net displacement and faster dissemination. Taken together, our study indicates an inner mechanism for sporozoites to adapt to the environment, which could help with their successful exit from the skin tissue.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number110463
JournaliScience
Volume27
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 16 2024

Keywords

  • biological sciences
  • cell biology
  • natural sciences
  • specialized functions of cells

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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