Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 and Haemozoin: Wedding Rings for Human Host and Plasmodium falciparum Parasite in Complicated Malaria
Figure 2
HZ-containing pRBCs (trophozoites) and free HZ enhance MMP-9 levels in HUVECs. Untreated cells (column/lane 1, both panels), cells treated with uninfected RBCs or latex as control stimuli (column/lane 2, (a) and (b) resp.), and cells treated with HZ-containing-trophozoites or HZ (column/lane 3, (a) and (b), resp.) were incubated for 48 h. At the end of the treatment, MMP-9 levels were measured in HUVEC supernatants by SDS-PAGE gelatin zymography and densitometric analysis through a computerized densitometer as previously described [23, 24]. Column data (lower panels) are mean values of arbitrary densitometric units + SEM of three independent experiments; gel data (upper panels) are from one representative experiment; the 83-kDa negative bands in the gel indicate MMP-9 levels. Data were analyzed for significance by Student’s -test and all differences were significant ((a) 1 versus 2: ; 1 versus 3: ; 2 versus 3: . (b) 1 versus 2: ; 1 versus 3: ; 2 versus 3: ).
