Malaria causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, disproportionately impacting sub-Saharan Africa. Disease phenotypes associated with infection can vary widely, from asymptomatic to life-threatening. To date, prevention efforts, particularly those related to vaccine development, have been hindered by an incomplete understanding of which factors impact host immune responses resulting in these divergent outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) is a diverse family of variant surface antigens, encoded by var genes, that mediates binding of infected erythrocytes to human cells and plays a key role in parasite immune evasion and malaria pathology. The increased availability of parasite genome sequence data has revolutionised the study of PfEMP1 diversity across multiple P. falciparum isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSuccessful transmission of Plasmodium falciparum from one person to another relies on the complete intraerythrocytic development of non-pathogenic sexual gametocytes infectious for anopheline mosquitoes. Understanding the genetic factors that regulate gametocyte development is vital for identifying transmission-blocking targets in the malaria parasite life cycle. Toward this end, we conducted a forward genetic study to characterize the development of gametocytes from sexual commitment to mature stage V.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe formation of biomolecular condensates contributes to intracellular compartmentalization, and plays an important role in many cellular processes. The characterization of condensates is however challenging, requiring advanced biophysical or biochemical methods that are often less suitable for in vivo studies. A particular need for easily accessible yet thorough methods that enable the characterization of condensates across different experimental systems thus remains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To compare all available rapid tests on a large cohort of recurrent bladder cancer during follow-up in this multicentre-study is the first study. BTA stat, NMP22 BladderChek, UBC Rapid Test CancerCheck UBC rapid VISUAL, and uromonitor are urinary-based rapid tests for bladder cancer detection.
Methods: In total, 187 urine samples were analyzed from patients with suspected recurrent non-muscle invasive urothelial bladder cancer on cystoscopy during follow-up in a real-world assessment.