LFA-1 interaction with GBP-130 on Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells mediates NK cell activation and parasite control
Osama Mukhtar, Ravi Dutt, Ashutosh Panda, Poonam Kumari, Suneet Shekhar Singh, Gourab Paul, Neha Prakash, Madiha Abbas, Md Muzahidul Islam, Priya Arora, Alma Tammour, Asif Mohmmed, Dhiraj Kumar, Pawan Malhotra, Moritz Treeck, Osama Mukhtar, Ravi Dutt, Ashutosh Panda, Poonam Kumari, Suneet Shekhar Si · 2026
Read LFA-1 interaction with GBP-130 on Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells mediates NK cell activation and parasite control by Osama Mukhtar, Ravi Dutt, Ashutosh Panda, Poonam Kumari, Suneet Shekhar Singh, Gourab Paul, Neha Prakash, Madiha Abbas, Md Muzahidul Islam, Priya Arora, Alma Tammour, Asif Mohmmed, Dhiraj Kumar, Pawan Malhotra, Moritz Treeck, Osama Mukhtar, Ravi Dutt, Ashutosh Panda, Poonam Kumari, Suneet Shekhar Si (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13218722.txt.
Description
Osama Mukhtar and colleagues identify the malaria parasite protein that natural killer cells grip when they attack infected red blood cells, in a 2026 study. Natural killer cells help control Plasmodium falciparum early in infection, partly through an adhesion molecule called LFA-1 on their surface. The partner that LFA-1 binds was unknown, leaving a gap in understanding how this defense works.
Using a fusion of the LFA-1 binding domain as bait, the team fished interacting proteins from infected red cells. They pinned down glycophorin binding protein-130, displayed on the infected cell surface, as a high-confidence partner. The purified parasite protein bound immune cells only when LFA-1 was present. In cell culture, the protein switched natural killer cells on, triggered their killing, and enabled destruction of infected cells, while antibodies blocking the protein blunted all of these effects. The authors propose the interaction as a target for host-directed malaria interventions.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Osama Mukhtar, Ravi Dutt, Ashutosh Panda, Poonam Kumari, Suneet Shekhar Singh, Gourab Paul, Neha Prakash, Madiha Abbas, Md Muzahidul Islam, Priya Arora, Alma Tammour, Asif Mohmmed, Dhiraj Kumar, Pawan Malhotra, Moritz Treeck, Osama Mukhtar, Ravi Dutt, Ashutosh Panda, Poonam Kumari, Suneet Shekhar Si |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 112 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |