Inhibition of malarial invasion by intracellular antibodies against intrinsic membrane proteins in the red cell.

It has previously been shown that antibodies against the transmembrane proteins, band 3 and glycophorin A, inhibit entry of the merozoite into the red cell and, in the case of band 3, it was established that attachment of the parasite to the cell is not prevented. We have found that antibodies against the cytoplasmic domains of band 3 and of glycophorin A, when present in the interior of resealed ghosts of human red cells, also inhibit invasion by P. falciparum. It is inferred that attachment of the merozoite to the red cell causes structural effects that are transduced to the membrane cytoskeleton and the antibodies against transmembrane proteins interfere with the invasion sequence at this level.