Berlin 2015 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 16: Posters: Cell adhesion, mechanics and migration

BP 16.28: Poster

Montag, 16. März 2015, 17:30–19:30, Poster A

Modelling adhesion of malaria-infected red blood cells — •Anil K. Dasanna and Ulrich S. Schwarz — Heidelberg University

During the blood stage of the malaria lifecycle, merozoites released by the infected liver infect healthy Red Blood Cells (RBC) which then develop adhesive protrusions on their surfaces. The infected RBCs adhere to endothelial cells in the microvasculature, leading to capillary obstruction. Using Brownian dynamics simulations, we modeled infected RBC as a spherical shell covered with knobs having multiple receptors on each knob. First, we studied adhesive strength of infected RBC as a function of its knob structure by applying an external loading. The adhesive strength or lifetime of receptor-ligand bond cluster depends on the density of knobs, external loading, and the mean number of receptors per knob. We also simulated the capture efficiency of infected RBC in hydrodynamic shear flow. We will discuss different dynamic states such as rolling adhesion, firm adhesion and free motion, which depend on flow strength and bond kinetic rates. Finally we will briefly discuss the ongoing work on non-spherical cell shapes and explicit modeling of the shapes which corresponds to in vivo situation.