ABSTRACT
The ability of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes from 162 Thai patients with uncomplicated malaria, 82 patients with severe malaria and 19 patients with cerebral malaria to form rosettes in vitro was studied. Of 263 isolates, 62 were evaluated for their adherence to different target molecules. We found that wide variation occurred in isolates from all groups in the level of rosette formation and adherence to CD36, intracellular adhesion molecule-1, thrombospondin and chondroitin sulfate A. No statistically significant correlation between the magnitude of rosette formation and disease severity was found (p > 0.05). In addition, our results from the use of purified CD36 as an adherence receptor showed no association between the degree rosetting and level of cytoadherence (p > 0.05, r = -0.04). Our data provide evidence that rosette formation and cytoadherence involve different molecular mechanisms and both phenomena can occur in all manifestations of the disease.