| Abstract: | Soluble oligosaccharides derived from the surface of human erythrocytes were tested for their ability to competitively inhibit invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum, a malarial parasite. Invasion was most effectively inhibited by erythroglycan, a carbohydrate component of the band 3 transmembrane protein. The lactosamine chains of erythroglycan contributed much of the inhibitory activity. This indication of a primary parasite interaction site on band 3 supports a role for this protein in mediating the radical alterations of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton that accompany invasion. |
