yoelii

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), including exosomes, are formed by the endocytic pathway and contain genetic and protein material which reflect the contents of their cells of origin. These contents have a role in vesicle-mediated information transfer, as well as physiological and pathological functions. Thus, these vesicles are of great interest as therapeutic targets, or as vehicles for immunomodulatory control.

Plasmodium parasites cause malaria in mammalian hosts and are transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Activated gametocytes in the mosquito midgut egress from erythrocytes followed by fertilization and zygote formation. Zygotes differentiate into motile invasive ookinetes, which penetrate the midgut epithelium before forming oocysts beneath the basal lamina.

Cerebral malaria (CM) is one of the most severe pathologies of malaria; it induces neuro-cognitive sequelae and has a high mortality rate. Although many factors involved in the development of CM have been discovered, its pathogenic mechanisms are still not completely understood. Most studies on CM have focused on the blood-brain barrier (BBB), despite the importance of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB), which protects the brain from peripheral inflammation.