VARIATION IN MEMBRANE ELECTROCHEMICAL POTENTIAL OF PLASMODIUM INFECTED ERYTHROCYTES

Membrane electrochemical potential or zeta potential (ZP) is a feature of the molecular profile of the cell membrane and the two-dimensional arrangement of its charge-bearing molecules. Plasmodium species, the causative agents of malaria, are intracellular parasites that remodel host erythrocytes by expressing their own proteins on erythrocyte membranes. In the present study the variation in the ZP of erythrocytes of malaria patients was studied by comparing it with that of the normal healthy volunteers. The ZP of erythrocytes was measured by the cell electrophoresis technique using Zeta Meter System 4.0 at the minimum voltage required for the movement of the erythrocytes to travel a fixed distance. For healthy volunteers the average ZP value of the erythrocytes was found to be 22.57 ± 0.2984 mV and for malaria patients it was found to be 13.09 ± 0.8456 mV. The results revealed that there is a significant decrease in the ZP of the erythrocytes of malaria patients as compared with that of the healthy volunteers. Thus it can be concluded that plasmodium species remodels the host erythrocytes and hence reduces the membrane electrochemical potential of erythrocytes of the malaria patients.