Overview

Despite considerable efforts during recent years to combat malaria, the disease remains a major threat to public health in tropical countries. The most severe clinical courses of malaria are due to infections with the protozoan species Plasmodium falciparum. The virulence of P. falciparum has been linked to the ability of infected red blood cells to adhere to a range of endothelial cell surface molecules expressed on blood vessel walls such as CD36 and ICAM-1. This so-called sequestration process allows the parasite to avoid spleen-dependent killing mechanisms.