FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS, AUSSIEGALL
Mice infected with the malaria parasite can purposely damage their own healthy red blood cells to defend themselves against the invader, which thrives by infecting new blood cells. This phenomenon, once thought to be an unintended side effect of the immune system response to infection, appears instead to be an effective measure the reduce the virulence of the parasite, according to a study published yesterday (June 20) in Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
“The immune system is really judiciously killing red blood cells at exactly the moment where it will maximally slow down the parasite’s growth rate,” said evolutionary ecologist and co-author Jessica Metcalf of Oxford University. “So it’s self-harm for self-defense.”
Malaria parasites multiply within red blood cells until they burst, releasing new ...
