Fig. 5

Simulated trajectories of parasitized HbAA and HbAS erythrocytes. Representative translational velocity, v, and fluorescence amplitude trajectories, A, are shown for parasitized HbAA and HbAS erythrocytes at a the trophozoite and b schizont stage. The following experimentally determined parameters were used for the simulations, with the parameters given in the following order: reduced volume, knob density, bending modulus, and shear modulus. HbAA trophozoites, 0.79, 5 knobs µm−2, 84 kBT, 20 µN m−1; HbAS trophozoites, 0.66, 3 knobs µm−2, 143 kBT, 40 µN m−1; HbAA schizonts, 0.99, 8 knobs µm−2, 84 kBT, 20 µN m−1; HbAS schizonts, 0.75, 5 knobs µm−2, 143 kBT, 40 µN m−1. Wall shear stress, 0.1 Pa. c Effect of cell size on the dynamic adhesion of infected erythrocytes. Three different cell sizes were selected: 100%, 80%, and 60% of surface area. The translational velocity, amplitude difference, contact time, and Pearson correlation coefficient between fluorescence amplitude and velocity trajectories are shown for a trophozoite. The knob density was kept constant in all the cases and a bending modulus and a shear modulus of 84 kBT and 20 µN m−1, respectively, were considered. Wall shear stress, 0.1 Pa. d Effect of the knob distribution on adhesion dynamics. A homogeneous knob distribution (hom) was simulated by keeping the distance between any two consecutive knobs almost the same, whereas the heterogeneous knob distribution (heterog) represents our standard approach as described in the methods section. All other parameters were as described above. Statistical significance was assessed using Holm–Sidak one-way ANOVA (c) or Student’s two-tailed t-test (d). n.s., not significant. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001