First-Trimester Plasmodium falciparum Infections Display a Typical “Placental” Phenotype

Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IEs) adhere to host cell receptors, allowing parasites to sequester into deep vascular beds of various organs. This defining phenomenon of malaria pathogenesis is key to the severe clinical complications associated with cerebral and placental malaria. The principal ligand associated with the binding to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) that allows placental sequestration of IEs is a P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) family member encoded by the var2csa gene.