ABSTRACT
This chapter presents recent findings which are relevant to the biochemistry of interactions of malaria parasites with the host erythrocyte and which have been studied in some detail. The life cycle of malaria parasites is highly complex. It includes a sexual developmental phase in the mosquito vector and two cycles of asexual multiplication in the vertebrate host: a tissue phase or the exoerythrocytic cycle and the erythrocytic cycle. In vitro, merozoites of Plasmodium knowlesi infect a variety of monkey as well as human erythrocytes with different levels of efficiency which reflects the susceptibility of the various hosts to this parasite. Despite extensive studies on merozoites, the biochemical nature of specific constituents which participate in the process of infection remain even more ambiguous than erythrocyte receptors. Based on morphological observations, the surface coat and secretory products of the anterior organelles are apparently the main participants in the interaction with the erythrocyte.
