THE secret to how malaria evades being detected by immune cells in the liver has been uncovered. The Plasmodium parasite initially invades liver cells and reproduces, but exactly how it spreads to red blood cells throughout the body was not known.
By studying infected mice, Angelika Sturm at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany, and colleagues found that the parasite kills infected liver cells and then forces them through membranes into blood vessels, sending parasite-filled containers into the bloodstream. At the same time the parasite mops up calcium ions, which would otherwise trigger "eat me" signals that immune cells can detect (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1129720).
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