IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Host-Parasite Interactions of Intraerythrocytic Malaria Infections

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Marissa Schroeter from Rutgers presented research on how malaria parasites evade immune clearance during the blood-stage (erythrocytic) infection. Her work focuses on phosphatidylserine (PS), a “come eat me” signal that infected red blood cells normally expose to trigger phagocytosis by macrophages. She investigated whether the parasite’s apicoplast organelle helps maintain membrane asymmetry and suppress PS exposure. Using apicoplast-deficient Plasmodium falciparum, she found increased PS externalization and greater susceptibility to macrophage phagocytosis. She developed pHrodo-based flow and imaging assays to measure uptake in both mouse and human macrophages. In CD36-deficient systems, phagocytosis of infected cells was reduced, and mice lacking CD36 showed worse survival after infection, supporting a key role for PS recognition in controlling malaria. Her conclusion: the apicoplast supports immune evasion by preserving red blood cell membrane asymmetry, and targeting it may enhance host clearance of infected cells.

Meta Tag

Date April 16, 2026 8:30 AM - 8:45 AM

Room 153AB

Session Microbial Pathogenesis

Speaker Marissa Schroeter

Track Microbial, Parasitic, and Fungal Immunology (MPF)

Year 2026

Keywords

malaria parasites

phosphatidylserine exposure

apicoplast

macrophage phagocytosis

CD36-deficient

April 16, 2026 8:30 AM - 8:45 AM

153AB

Microbial Pathogenesis

Marissa Schroeter

Microbial, Parasitic, and Fungal Immunology (MPF)

2026