Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Malaria pp 1–5Cite as

Red Cell Deformability and Malaria Pathophysiology

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 317 Accesses

Synonyms

Erythrocyte deformability; Red blood cell deformability

Definition

Red blood cell deformability (RCD) is the ability of the red cell to change its shape in response to shear stress. In falciparum malaria, RCD of both parasitized red blood cell (RBC) and uninfected RBC is reduced, which can contribute to microcirculatory dysfunction, a central feature in the pathogenesis of severe falciparum malaria.

Introduction

The normal-shaped RBC is a biconcave disc with a diameter of 7.5–8.7 μm and a cell volume which decreases slightly with cell age. RBCs spend most of their average 120-day circulatory life span within the microcirculation, encountering capillary diameters between 3 and 7 μm and down to 1–3 μm in the red pulp of the spleen. Capillary flow and RBC survival thus depend on the red blood cell’s unique ability to deform remarkably as well as on the capacity of its membrane to “tank-tread” rotate around the red cell contents. In severe falciparum malaria, deformability of both...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Antia M, Herricks T, Rathod PK. Microfluidic approaches to malaria pathogenesis. Cell Microbiol. 2008;10:1968–74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buffet PA, Safeukui I, Deplaine G, Brousse V, Prendki V, Thellier M, et al. The pathogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in humans: insights from splenic physiology. Blood. 2011;117:381–92.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cranston HA, Boylan CW, Carroll GL, Sutera SP, Williamson JR, Gluzman IY, et al. Plasmodium falciparum maturation abolishes physiologic red cell deformability. Science. 1984;223:400–3.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day NP, Phu NH, Mai NT, Chau TT, Loc PP, Chuong LV, et al. The pathophysiologic and prognostic significance of acidosis in severe adult malaria. Crit Care Med. 2000;28:1833–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dintenfass L. Inversion of the Fahraeus-Lindqvist phenomenon in blood flow through capillaries of diminishing radius. Nature. 1967;215:1099–100.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dondorp AM, Angus BJ, Hardeman MR, Chotivanich KT, Silamut K, Ruangveerayuth R, et al. Prognostic significance of reduced red blood cell deformability in severe falciparum malaria. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1997;57:507–11.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dondorp AM, Angus BJ, Chotivanich K, Silamut K, Ruangveerayuth R, Hardeman MR, et al. Red blood cell deformability as a predictor of anemia in severe falciparum malaria. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1999;60:733–7.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dondorp AM, Kager PA, Vreeken J, White NJ. Abnormal blood flow and red blood cell deformability in severe malaria. Parasitol Today. 2000;16:228–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dondorp AM, Nyanoti M, Kager PA, Mithwani S, Vreeken J, Marsh K. The role of reduced red cell deformability in the pathogenesis of severe falciparum malaria and its restoration by blood transfusion. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2002;96:282–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Handayani S, Chiu DT, Tjitra E, Kuo JS, Lampah D, Kenangalem E, et al. High deformability of Plasmodium vivax-infected red blood cells under microfluidic conditions. J Infect Dis. 2009;199:445–50.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herricks T, Antia M, Rathod PK. Deformability limits of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells. Cell Microbiol. 2009;11:1340–53.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matrai A, Whittington RB, Skalak R. Biophysics of blood. In: Chien S, Dormandy J, Ernst E, Matrai A, editors. Clinical hemorheology. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers; 1987. p. 9–73.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nash GB, O’Brien E, Gordon-Smith EC, Dormandy JA. Abnormalities in the mechanical properties of red blood cells caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Blood. 1989;74:855–61.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nuchsongsin F, Chotivanich K, Charunwatthana P, Omodeo-Sale F, Taramelli D, Day NP, et al. Effects of malaria heme products on red blood cell deformability. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2007;77:617–22.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paulitschke M, Nash GB. Membrane rigidity of red blood cells parasitized by different strains of Plasmodium falciparum. J Lab Clin Med. 1993;122:581–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Planche T, Agbenyega T, Bedu-Addo G, Ansong D, Owusu-Ofori A, Micah F, et al. A prospective comparison of malaria with other severe diseases in African children: prognosis and optimization of management. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;37:890–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shelby JP, White J, Ganesan K, Rathod PK, Chiu DT. A microfluidic model for single-cell capillary obstruction by Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100:14618–22.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suwanarusk R, Cooke BM, Dondorp AM, Silamut K, Sattabongkot J, White NJ, et al. The deformability of red blood cells parasitized by Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. J Infect Dis. 2004;189:190–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, 10400, Bangkok, Thailand

    Haruhiko Ishioka, Prakaykaew Charunwatthana & Arjen M. Dondorp

  2. Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Arjen M. Dondorp

Authors
  1. Haruhiko Ishioka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Prakaykaew Charunwatthana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arjen M. Dondorp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Haruhiko Ishioka .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Heswall, United Kingdom

    Marcel Hommel

  2. Institut für Tropenmedizin, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Peter G. Kremsner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Ishioka, H., Charunwatthana, P., Dondorp, A.M. (2015). Red Cell Deformability and Malaria Pathophysiology. In: Hommel, M., Kremsner, P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Malaria. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8757-9_82-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8757-9_82-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8757-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation