Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37156765›Full record

ArticleNature communications2023

Plasmodium falciparum has evolved multiple mechanisms to hijack human immunoglobulin M.

Chenggong Ji, Hao Shen, Chen Su, Yaxin Li, Shihua Chen, Thomas H Sharp, Junyu Xiao

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

13 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Naturally acquired antibodies toFrontiers in immunology · 2026
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  5. Dietary supplementation withFrontiers in microbiology · 2026
    Article
  6. Science advances · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. CD5L associates with IgM via the J chain.Nature communications · 2024
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Variable Surface Antigens ofProtein and peptide letters · 2024
    Review
  13. Article
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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Chenggong Ji *State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Hao Shen *State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0003-1083-6357
Chen SuState Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Yaxin LiState Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Shihua ChenJoint Graduate Program of Peking-Tsinghua-NIBS, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Thomas H SharpDepartment of Cell and Chemical Biology, Section Electron Microscopy, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300, RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-1990-2333
Junyu XiaoState Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China. junyuxiao@pku.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0003-1822-1701
Peking University · CNLeiden University Medical Center · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe malaria in humans. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) serves as the first line of humoral defense against infection and potently activates the complement pathway to facilitate P. falciparum clearance. A number of P. falciparum proteins bind IgM, leading to immune evasion and severe disease. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Here, using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, we delineate how P. falciparum proteins VAR2CSA, TM284VAR1, DBLMSP, and DBLMSP2 target IgM. Each protein binds IgM in a different manner, and together they present a variety of Duffy-binding-like domain-IgM interaction modes. We further show that these proteins interfere directly with IgM-mediated complement activation in vitro, with VAR2CSA exhibiting the most potent inhibitory effect. These results underscore the importance of IgM for human adaptation of P. falciparum and provide critical insights into its immune evasion mechanism.

Indexed as

Malaria, FalciparumPlasmodium falciparumAntibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, ProtozoanCryoelectron MicroscopyHumansImmunoglobulin MProtozoan ProteinsAntibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, ProtozoanImmunoglobulin MProtozoan Proteins

Identifiers

PMID37156765
PMCPMC10167334
OpenAlexW4375955956

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.