ERC Advanced Grant · 2023
Molecular mimicry and immune evasion in malaria parasites
Parasites have evolved elaborate strategies that maximise their fitness. Central to these strategies is their interaction with the host immune system, for instance with immune receptors which mediate pathogen recognition or immune tolerance. Human malaria parasites encode a family of ~200 rifins, some of which are molecular mimics of human self-identifying proteins and that bind tolerance-inducing receptors. However, very few host targets of rifin proteins are known. Our data suggests that the family at large may form an elaborate repertoire of immunomodulatory effectors. We postulate that rifins are deployed to manipulate host immunity in order to facilitate parasite persistence in its…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.