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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2014 Feb;16(2):401. doi: 10.1007/s11926-013-0401-8

Figure 1. Proposed model for uric acid-induced inflammation in malaria.

Figure 1

Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes at different stages of development show uric acid precipitates (red immunostaining). A more diffuse uric acid staining pattern is seen in early stage parasites, whereas a more distinct punctate pattern is seen in late stages and ruptured erythrocytes (blue=nuclei). Upon rupture, accumulated hypoxanthine is also released and converted into uric acid by Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XD). Precipitation of soluble uric acid may take place as a result of increased uric acid concentration and/or soluble uric acid may play a direct role in inflammatory response.