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Malaria Immunology pp 445–455Cite as

An Improved Method for Assessing Antigen Presentation on the Surface of Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes by Immuno-Electron Microscopy

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 2470)

Abstract

Immuno-electron microscopy can detect and localize antigens in cells or tissues at a resolution of several nanometers. In the case of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes, immuno-EM studies are frequently hampered by the electron-dense nature of the hemoglobin and access of antibodies to antigenic sites, particularly if the targeted protein is presented on the host cell surface or lies in proximity to the host cell cytoskeleton. Here, we describe an improved immuno-EM protocol that overcomes these problems. The improved signal to noise ratio and the enhanced access to antigenic sites now allows one to obtain information regarding target density and distribution and, hence, additional insights into the architecture and function of parasite-induced, or -affected, structures.

Key words

  • PfEMP1
  • Knobs
  • Antigen accessibility
  • Hemoglobin
  • Immuno-EM
  • Stereology

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project number 240245660—SFB 1129 (M.L. and U.S.S.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Infectious Diseases, Parasitology, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Marek Cyrklaff, Cecilia Palmira Sanchez, Lukas Hanebutte & Michael Lanzer

  2. Institute for Theoretical Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany

    Julia Jäger & Ulrich S. Schwarz

  3. BioQuant-Center for Quantitative Biology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany

    Julia Jäger & Ulrich S. Schwarz

Authors
  1. Marek Cyrklaff
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  2. Cecilia Palmira Sanchez
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  3. Lukas Hanebutte
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  4. Julia Jäger
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  5. Ulrich S. Schwarz
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  6. Michael Lanzer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Lanzer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Medical Parasitology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Prof. Anja Tatiana Ramstedt Jensen

  2. Centre for Medical Parasitology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Prof. Lars Hviid

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Cite this protocol

Cyrklaff, M., Sanchez, C.P., Hanebutte, L., Jäger, J., Schwarz, U.S., Lanzer, M. (2022). An Improved Method for Assessing Antigen Presentation on the Surface of Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes by Immuno-Electron Microscopy. In: Jensen, A.T.R., Hviid, L. (eds) Malaria Immunology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2470. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2189-9_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2189-9_33

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2188-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2189-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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