Reduced deformability of both infected and uninfected red blood cells (RBCs) contributes to pathogenesis in Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Whole-blood RBC deformability (RBC-D) is not well characterized in Plasmodium vivax malaria. We used a laser-assisted optical rotational cell analyzer to measure the RBC-D in fresh whole-blood samples from Malaysian patients with vivax malaria (n = 25). Deformability of whole-blood RBCs, the vast majority of which were uninfected, was reduced in vivax malaria compared with controls (n = 15), though not to the same degree as in falciparum malaria (n = 90). Reduced RBC-D may contribute to the pathogenesis of vivax malaria, including splenic retention of uninfected RBCs.
Journal article
2025-03-01T00:00:00+00:00
231
e566 - e569
Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Erythrocytes, Humans, Plasmodium vivax, Malaria, Falciparum, Malaria, Vivax, Erythrocyte Deformability, Adult, Middle Aged, Malaysia, Female, Male, Young Adult