Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35403820›Full record

ArticleEMBO reports2022

Plasmodium sporozoite disintegration during skin passage limits malaria parasite transmission.

Jessica Kehrer, Pauline Formaglio, Julianne Mendi Muthinja, Sebastian Weber, Danny Baltissen, Christopher Lance, Johanna Ripp, Janessa Grech, Markus Meissner, Charlotta Funaya and 2 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EMBO reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Microtubule inner proteins ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Jessica KehrerIntegrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5084-3485
Pauline FormaglioMalaria Infection and Immunity Unit, Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0002-9612-3157
Julianne Mendi MuthinjaIntegrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2632-5327
Sebastian WeberElectron Microscopy Core Facility, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Danny BaltissenIntegrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany.
Christopher LanceIntegrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1275-9802
Johanna RippIntegrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-3558-5937
Janessa GrechExperimental Parasitology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8641-3313
Markus MeissnerExperimental Parasitology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
Charlotta FunayaElectron Microscopy Core Facility, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1375-1287
Rogerio AminoMalaria Infection and Immunity Unit, Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0002-8086-2932
Friedrich FrischknechtIntegrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8332-6668
Heidelberg University · DEInstitut Pasteur · FRLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During transmission of malaria-causing parasites from mosquitoes to mammals, Plasmodium sporozoites migrate rapidly in the skin to search for a blood vessel. The high migratory speed and narrow passages taken by the parasites suggest considerable strain on the sporozoites to maintain their shape. Here, we show that the membrane-associated protein, concavin, is important for the maintenance of the Plasmodium sporozoite shape inside salivary glands of mosquitoes and during migration in the skin. Concavin-GFP localizes at the cytoplasmic periphery and concavin(-) sporozoites progressively round up upon entry of salivary glands. Rounded concavin(-) sporozoites fail to pass through the narrow salivary ducts and are rarely ejected by mosquitoes, while normally shaped concavin(-) sporozoites are transmitted. Strikingly, motile concavin(-) sporozoites disintegrate while migrating through the skin leading to parasite arrest or death and decreased transmission efficiency. Collectively, we suggest that concavin contributes to cell shape maintenance by riveting the plasma membrane to the subtending inner membrane complex. Interfering with cell shape maintenance pathways might hence provide a new strategy to prevent a malaria infection.

Indexed as

AnophelesMalariaParasitesPlasmodiumAnimalsMammalsSporozoitescell migrationcell shape maintenancegliding motilitymalaria transmissionpellicle

Identifiers

PMID35403820
PMCPMC9253755
OpenAlexW4223487524

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.