Plasmodium vivax strains use alternative pathways for invasion.

Plasmodium vivax has two invasion ligand/host receptor pathways (PvDBP/DARC and PvRBP2b/TfR1) that are promising targets for therapeutic intervention. We optimized invasion assays with isogenic cultured reticulocytes. Using a receptor blockade approach with multiple P. vivax isolates, we found that all strains utilized both DARC and TfR1, however with significant variation in receptor usage. This suggests that P. vivax, like P. falciparum, uses alternative invasion pathways with implications for pathogenesis and vaccine development.