The bystander effect in optically trapped red blood cells due to Plasmodium falciparum infection

Paul, Apurba and Pallavi, Rani and Tatu, Utpal S and Natarajan, Vasant (2013) The bystander effect in optically trapped red blood cells due to Plasmodium falciparum infection. In: TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE, 107 (4). pp. 220-223.

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Abstract

In a previous study of the properties of red blood cells (RBC) trapped in an optical tweezers trap, an increase in the spectrum of Brownian fluctuations for RBCs from a Plasmodium falciparum culture (due to increased rigidity) compared with normal RBCs was measured. A bystander effect was observed, whereby RBCs actually hosting the parasite had an effect on the physical properties of remaining non-hosting RBCs. The distribution of corner frequency (f(c)) in the power spectrum of single RBCs held in an optical tweezers trap was studied. Two tests were done to confirm the bystander effect. In the first, RBCs from an infected culture were separated into hosting and non-hosting RBCs. In the second, all RBCs were removed from the infected culture, and normal RBCs were incubated in the spent medium. The trapping environment was the same for all measurements so only changes in the properties of RBCs were measured. In the first experiment, a similar and statistically significant increase was measured both for hosting and non-hosting RBCs. In the second experiment, normal RBCs incubated in spent medium started to become rigid after a few hours and showed complete changes (comparable with RBCs from the infected culture) after 24 h. These experiments provide direct evidence of medium-induced changes in the properties of RBCs in an infected culture, regardless of whether the RBCs actually host the parasite.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
Publisher:	OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to the OXFORD UNIV PRESS, ENGLAND.
Keywords:	Malaria; Plasmodium falciparum; Red blood cells; Malaria culture; Optical tweezers; Bystander effect
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Biochemistry Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2013 11:26
Last Modified:	04 May 2013 03:42
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/46461

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