Case report
The extravascular compartment of the bone marrow: a niche for Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte maturation?
1 Laboratoire de parasitologie-mycologie, Assistance publique hôpitaux de Paris, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75651, Paris Cedex 13, France
2 Laboratoire d'anatomie-pathologie, Assistance publique hôpitaux de Paris, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
3 Service de médecine interne 2, Assistance publique hôpitaux de Paris, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
4 Département d’immunologie, Assistance publique hôpitaux de Paris, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
5 Laboratoire d’hématologie, Assistance publique hôpitaux de Paris, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
6 Unité Prévention et Thérapie Moléculaire des Maladies Humaines, CNR des corynébactéries du complexe diphtheriae, Institut Pasteur, 25-28 rue du Dr Roux, 75014, Paris, France
7 Unité d'Immunologie Moléculaire des Parasites, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
8 Inserm-UPMC, Paris 6 Université, UMRs945, 91 boulevard de l’hôpital, 75013, Paris, France
Malaria Journal 2012, 11:285 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-11-285
Published: 20 August 2012Abstract
Background
Plasmodium falciparum immature gametocytes accumulate in the bone marrow, but their exact location in this tissue remains unclear.
Methods
The stage and deposition pattern of gametocytes was analysed on histological sections of a bone marrow sample collected in a patient with subacute P. falciparum malaria.
Results
A majority (89%) of immature stages II to IV gametocytes and a minority (29%) of mature stage V gametocytes were observed in extravascular spaces.
Discussion and conclusion
These observations represent a valuable step towards understanding sequestration patterns of P. falciparum gametocytes and may ultimately lead to novel transmission-blocking interventions.
