Microstructured Blood Vessel Surrogates Reveal Structural Tropism of Motile Malaria Parasites.

Plasmodium sporozoites, the highly motile forms of the malaria parasite, are transmitted naturally by mosquitoes and traverse the skin to find, associate with, and enter blood capillaries. Research aimed at understanding how sporozoites select blood vessels is hampered by the lack of a suitable experimental system. Arrays of uniform cylindrical pillars can be used to study small cells moving in controlled environments.

Geometrical model for malaria parasite migration in structured environments.

Malaria is transmitted to vertebrates via a mosquito bite, during which rodlike and crescent-shaped parasites, called sporozoites, are injected into the skin of the host. Searching for a blood capillary to penetrate, sporozoites move quickly in locally helical trajectories, that are frequently perturbed by interactions with the extracellular environment. Here we present a theoretical analysis of the active motility of sporozoites in a structured environment.

Typical and atypical pattern of pulmonary sarcoidosis at high-resolution CT: relation to clinical evolution and therapeutic procedures.

Aim: This study was done to evaluate the importance of high-resolution CT (HRCT) in defining pattern and extent of disease and establishing the clinical and therapeutic pathway in sarcoidosis.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of 56 patients with pulmonary involvement of sarcoidosis was performed. Two groups were identified: 39 patients exhibiting a typical HRCT pattern and 17 patients with an atypical pattern.