Abstract
The ability of the intraerythrocytic Plasmodium spp. to form spontaneous rosettes with uninfected red blood cells (URBCs) has been observed in the medically important malaria parasites. Since the discovery of rosettes in the late 1980s, different formation mechanisms and pathobiological roles have been postulated for rosetting; most of which have focused on Plasmodium falciparum. Recent breakthroughs, including new data from Plasmodium vivax, have highlighted the multifaceted roles of rosetting in the immunopathobiology and the development of drug resistance in human malaria. Here, we provide new perspectives on the formation and the role of rosetting in malaria rheopathobiology.
Plasmodium spp. can form different types of rosette.Rosettes facilitate parasite sequestration.Rosettes hamper phagocytosis of Plasmodium-infected red blood cells (IRBCs) by the host phagocytes.Rosettes protect the late-stage IRBCs against antimalarials such as artemisinin and its derivatives, as well as other classes of drug.