Course of Plasmodium infection studied using 2D-COS on human erythrocytes

Abstract Background The threat of malaria is still present in the world. Recognizing the type of parasite is important in determining a treatment plan. The golden routine involves microscopic diagnostics of Giemsa-stained thin blood smears, however, alternative methods are also constantly being soug...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Malaria Journal
Main Authors: Malwina Birczyńska-Zych, Jacek Czepiel, Maria Łabanowska, Martyna Kucharska, Magdalena Kurdziel, Grażyna Biesiada, Aleksander Garlicki, Aleksandra Wesełucha-Birczyńska
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023
Subjects:
EPR
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-023-04611-5
https://doaj.org/article/8adde53b834c4e3a8545644374bbd8cc
Description
Summary:Abstract Background The threat of malaria is still present in the world. Recognizing the type of parasite is important in determining a treatment plan. The golden routine involves microscopic diagnostics of Giemsa-stained thin blood smears, however, alternative methods are also constantly being sought, in order to gain an additional insight into the course of the disease. Spectroscopic methods, e.g., Raman spectroscopy, are becoming increasingly popular, due to the non-destructive nature of these techniques. Methods The study included patients hospitalized for malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax, in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland, as well as healthy volunteers. The aim of this study was to assess the possibility of using Raman spectroscopy and 2D correlation (2D-COS) spectroscopy in understanding the structural changes in erythrocytes depending on the type of attacking parasite. EPR spectroscopy and two-trace two-dimensional (2T2D) correlation was also used to examine the specificity of paramagnetic centres found in the infected human blood. Results Two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy facilitates the identification of the hidden relationship, allowing for the discrimination of Raman spectra obtained during the course of disease in human red blood cells, infected by P. falciparum or P. vivax. Synchronous cross-peaks indicate the processes taking place inside the erythrocyte during the export of the parasite protein towards the cell membrane. In contrast, moieties that generate asynchronous 2D cross-peaks are characteristic of the respective ligand-receptor domains. These changes observed during the course of the infection, have different dynamics for P. falciparum and P. vivax, as indicated by the asynchronous correlation cross-peaks. Two-trace two-dimensional (2T2D) spectroscopy, applied to EPR spectra of blood at the beginning of the infection, showed differences between P. falciparum and P. vivax. Conclusions A unique feature ...