Plasmodium vivax merozoite-specific thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (PvMTRAP) interacts with human CD36, suggesting a novel ligand–receptor interaction for reticulocyte invasion

BACKGROUND: The Plasmodium vivax merozoite restrictively invades immature erythrocytes, suggesting that its ligand(s) might interact with corresponding receptor(s) that are selectively abundant on reticulocytes to complete the invasion. Finding the ligand‒receptor interaction involved in P. vivax invasion is critical to vivax malaria management; nevertheless, it remains to be unraveled. METHODS: A library of reticulocyte receptors and P. vivax ligands were expressed by a HEK293E mammalian cell expression system and were then used to screen the interaction using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A flow cytometry-based erythrocyte binding assay and bio-layer interferometry experiment were further utilized to cellularly and quantitatively identify the ligand‒receptor interaction, respectively. RESULTS: Plasmodium vivax merozoite-specific thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (PvMTRAP) was found to interact with human CD36 using systematic screening. This interaction was specific at a molecular level from in vitro analysis and comparable to that of P. vivax Duffy binding protein (PvDBP) and Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) (K(D): 37.0 ± 1.4 nM and 7.7 ± 0.5 nM, respectively). Flow cytometry indicated that PvMTRAP preferentially binds to reticulocytes, on which CD36 is selectively present. CONCLUSIONS: Human CD36 is selectively abundant on reticulocytes and is able to interact specifically with PvMTRAP, suggesting that it may function as a ligand and receptor during the invasion of reticulocytes by P. vivax. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-023-06031-5.