PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
During malaria infection, Plasmodium sporozoites, the fast-moving stage of the parasite, are injected by a mosquito into the skin of the mammalian host. In the skin, sporozoites need to migrate through the dermal tissue to enter the blood vessel. Sporozoite motility is critical for infection but not well understood. Here, we used collagen hydrogels with tunable fiber structures, as an in vitro model for the skin. After injecting sporozoites into the hydrogel, we analyzed their motility in three-dimension (3D). We found that sporozoites demonstrated chiral motility, in that they mostly follow right-handed helical trajectories. In high-concentration collagen gel, sporozoites have lower instantaneous speed, but exhibit straighter tracks compared to low-concentration collagen gel, which leads to longer net displacement and faster dissemination. Taken together, our study indicates an inner mechanism for sporozoites to adapt to the environment, which could help with their successful exit from the skin tissue.
摘要：
在疟疾感染期间，疟原虫子孢子,寄生虫快速移动的阶段，被蚊子注射到哺乳动物宿主的皮肤中。在皮肤上，子孢子需要通过真皮组织迁移进入血管。子孢子运动性对感染至关重要，但尚未得到很好的理解。这里,我们使用了具有可调纤维结构的胶原水凝胶，作为皮肤的体外模型。将子孢子注入水凝胶后，我们在三维(3D)中分析了它们的运动性。我们发现子孢子表现出手性运动，因为它们大多遵循右手螺旋轨迹。在高浓度胶原蛋白凝胶中，子孢子具有较低的瞬时速度，但与低浓度胶原蛋白凝胶相比，表现出更直的轨迹，这导致更长的净流离失所和更快的传播。一起来看,我们的研究表明子孢子适应环境的内在机制，这可以帮助他们成功离开皮肤组织。
