Table 5.
Key differences in P. falciparum and P. vivax placental and binding pathogenesis
| Feature | Plasmodium vivax | Plasmodium falciparum | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finding | References | Finding | References | |
| Infections detected in placenta | Rare | Singh et al. (2003) Mayor et al. (2012a) Carmona-Fonseca et al. (2013) |
Common | Singh et al. (2003) |
| Altered placental histology | Yes (less severe than Pf) | McGready et al. (2004) Souza et al. (2013) |
Yes (more severe than Pv) | McGready et al. (2004) Souza et al. (2013) |
| Binding to placental cryosection in vitro | Yes (decreased binding compared to Pf) | Carvalho et al. (2010) | Yes (increased binding compared to Pv) | Carvalho et al. (2010) |
| Binding to Chondroitin Sulphate-A in vitro | Yes | Chotivanich et al. (2012) | Yes | Fried and Duffy (1996) |
| Binding to hyaluronic acid in vitro | Yes | Chotivanich et al. (2012) | Yes | Beeson et al. (2000) |
| Binding to IgG in vitro | Unknown | N/A | Yes | Flick et al. (2001) |
| Binding to IgM in vitro | Unknown | N/A | Yes | Creasey et al. (2003) |
| Differential binding in pregnancy compared to non-pregnancy isolates | No | Marin-Menendez et al. (2013) | Yes | Fried and Duffy (1996) Beeson et al. (1999) |
| Leading placental ligand candidate | Members of the VIR family | (Carvalho et al. 2010; Chotivanich et al. 2012) | PfVAR2CSA | Salanti et al. (2003) |
| Rosetting | Yes | Udomsanpetch et al. (1995) | Yes (uncommon in placental isolates) | Handunnetti et al. (1989) Rogerson et al. (2000) |
Abbreviations: Pf, Plasmodium falciparum; Pv, Plasmodium vivax; IgG, immunoglobulin G; IgM, immunoglobulin M; N/A, not available.