"Hide-and-seek" as modus vivendi of malaria parasites.

In the interaction between a microorganism and its host both partners get challenged. Microorganisms have proved to be clever enough to acquire capabilities of hiding from and escaping the consequences of immune surveillance. Malaria parasites are not exceptions to the rule. We review below some of the escape mechanisms used by plasmodia, evasion mechanisms that depend on the life-cycle stage, route of penetration and microenvironment in which the parasites are established inside the host. The extreme diversity and antigenic variation and/or polymorphism of the parasite, the sequestration phenomenon, the induction of blocking antibodies, are only some of them. The understanding of these parasite strategies is of vital importance in the design of the waited-for malaria vaccine.