Extracellular vesicles in malaria: an agglomeration of two decades of research

Abstract Malaria is a complex parasitic disease, caused by Plasmodium spp. More than a century after the discovery of malaria parasites, this disease continues to pose a global public health problem and the pathogenesis of the severe forms of malaria remains incompletely understood. Extracellular ve...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tosin Opadokun, Petra Rohrbach
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: BMC 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/de8397d9018143009fb7cbfa95e9923f
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract Malaria is a complex parasitic disease, caused by Plasmodium spp. More than a century after the discovery of malaria parasites, this disease continues to pose a global public health problem and the pathogenesis of the severe forms of malaria remains incompletely understood. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, have been increasingly researched in the field of malaria in a bid to fill these knowledge gaps. EVs released from Plasmodium-infected red blood cells and other host cells during malaria infection are now believed to play key roles in disease pathogenesis and are suggested as vital components of the biology of Plasmodium spp. Malaria-derived EVs have been identified as potential disease biomarkers and therapeutic tools. In this review, key findings of malaria EV studies over the last 20 years are summarized and critically analysed. Outstanding areas of research into EV biology are identified. Unexplored EV research foci for the future that will contribute to consolidating the potential for EVs as agents in malaria prevention and control are proposed.