Single Cell Mechanics Study of the Human Disease Malaria

Abstract

Living cells do possess structural and mechanical properties' and any deviation in these properties not only results in the breakdown of their physiological functions, but may also give rise to human diseases. One such example is that of malaria. Single cell mechanics study of malaria had been done to investigate the changes in the structure-property-function relationship of red blood cells (RBCs) arising from infection by the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Here, biophysical experiments using micropipette aspiration, optical or laser tweezers and microfluidics are presented to highlight some research work done to quantitatively investigate the progressive stiffening and change in biorheological properties of RBCs at the different stages of infection. This stiffening is due to the cellular and molecular changes caused by the parasite within the infected RBCs and can result in the impairment of blood flow thus leading to organ failure, coma or even death. These single cell biomechanics studies demonstrate the relevance of biomechanics in the understanding of the pathophysiology of malaria. Also, the biophysical methodologies developed may provide a suitable testing strategy to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of certain agents and drugs being developed to prevent or inhibit stiffening of the Plasmodium falciparum infected RBCs.

Keywords

• nanobiomechanics
• single cell biomechanics
• pathophysiology
• human diseases
• malaria infection
• red blood cells
• biophysical techniques
• micropipette aspiration
• laser/optical tweezers
• microfluidics