Preferential targeting of human erythrocytes infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum via hexose transporter surface proteins

Advancing liposome technology for innovative strategies against malaria

“…For targeted delivery in the eradication of the erythrocytic phase of malaria, it is known that Plasmodium-infected red blood cells (pRBC) undergo structural modifications, including increased permeability and overexpression of surface receptors such as glucose transporter 1 (GLUT 1), glucosaminoglycan receptors, and essential protein receptors ( Bhide et al, 2023 ). Several ligands specific to overexpressed receptors, such as human serum albumin (HSA) ( Aditi et al, 2016 ), glucose ( Heikham et al, 2015 ), heparin ( Ismail et al, 2019 , Marques et al, 2014 ) and chondroitin sulfate ( Bhadra et al, 2006 ) have been developed for conjugation to the surface of nanoparticles to achieve a targeted effect on pRBC.…”