Finite element analysis of malaria infected erythrocyte stretched

Abstract

Malaria is a severe disease transmitted by malaria parasites, causing millions of deaths each year. Among the four different species of the malaria parasites that infect humans, Plasmodium falciparum is the most deadly serious. Healthy erythrocytes are highly deformable. However, when the Plasmodium falciparum parasite invades into the erythrocyte, it causes the host cell to lose its deformability and results in capillary blockage. Optical tweezers have been used to measure the mechanical properties of malaria infected erythrocytes. Here, a finite element model was developed to simulate the cell deformation induced by optical tweezers stretching, and to quantitatively evaluate the stiffening of cell membrane with the progression of parasite maturation. This model can be used to predict the deformation of malaria infected erythrocytes during different infectious stages under different loading conditions, and thus provide reference to the mechanical and therapeutic mechanism of capillary blockage.