Viola Introini

The paper investigates whether Plasmodium falciparum parasites preferentially invade Duffy-positive red blood cells and explores the evolutionary implications for Duffy negativity prevalence.

This study develops a microfluidic platform to quantify malaria parasite invasion under physiological flow conditions and shows that flow significantly affects invasion, particularly in parasites lacking the PfEBA175 gene.

The paper shows that fever increases adhesion of malaria parasites and neutrophils to brain blood vessels by damaging the endothelial glycocalyx, suggesting antipyretics could reduce disease severity.

The paper identifies two human monoclonal antibodies that broadly inhibit PfEMP1's binding to EPCR, a key process in severe malaria pathogenesis.

The paper uses optical tweezers to measure merozoite-erythrocyte attachment forces and identifies PfEBA and PfRH ligands as critical for attachment, not PfMSP1.

The paper shows that Dantu blood group variant increases red blood cell tension, reducing Plasmodium falciparum invasion and protecting against severe malaria.