Nicole Kilian

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Assistant Professor at California State University, Chico

The hemoglobins S and C protect carriers from severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Here, we found that these hemoglobinopathies affected the trafficking system that directs parasite-encoded proteins to the surface of infected erythrocytes. Cryoelectron tomography revealed that the parasite generated a host-derived actin cytoskeleton within the cyt...

The hemoglobinopathies S and C protect carriers from severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. We have recently shown that hemoglobin S and C interfere with host-actin remodeling in parasitized erythrocytes and the generation of an actin network that seems to be required for vesicular protein trafficking from the Maurer's clefts (a parasite-derived int...

Malaria is a potentially deadly disease. However, not every infected person develops severe symptoms. Some people are protected by naturally occurring mechanisms that frequently involve inheritable modifications in their hemoglobin. The best studied protective hemoglobins are the sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) and hemoglobin C (HbC) which both result...

Fast and effective detection of the causative agent of malaria in humans, protozoan Plasmodium parasites, is of crucial importance for increasing the effectiveness of treatment and to control a devastating disease that affects millions of people living in endemic areas. The microscopic examination of Giemsa‐stained blood films still remains the gol...

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum affects the lives of millions of people worldwide every year. The detection of replicating parasites within human red blood cells is of paramount importance, requiring appropriate diagnostic tools. Herein, we design and apply a silicon rhodamine‐fused glibenclamide (SiR‐glib). We first test this far‐red fl...

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum affects the lives of millions of people worldwide every year. The detection of replicating parasites within human red blood cells is of paramount importance, requiring appropriate diagnostic tools. Herein, we design and apply a silicon rhodamine-fused glibenclamide (SiR-glib). We first test this far-red fl...

In order to ensure a successful infection, parasites have developed ways to remodel the cells of their hosts. One such example are the Maurer's clefts, a secretory organelle of parasite origin found in red blood cells infected by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. In the article "Novel secretory organelles of parasite origin - at the cente...

Reorganization of cell organelle-deprived host red blood cells by the apicomplexan malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum enables their cytoadherence to endothelial cells that line the microvasculature. This increases the time red blood cells infected with mature developmental stages remain within selected organs such as the brain to avoid the sple...

Microscopy of mummified visceral tissue from a Medici family member in Italy identified a potential blood vessel containing erythrocytes. Giemsa staining, atomic force microscopy, and immunohistochemistry confirmed Plasmodium falciparum inside those erythrocytes. Our results indicate an ancient Mediterranean presence of P. falciparum, which remains...

Plasmodium falciparum Infection Cerebral malaria is the most severe complication caused by the malaria parasite P. falciparum. In article number 2202944, Oscar Bate Akide Ndunge, Nicole Kilian, and Mootaz M. Salman review the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie the development of this fatal condition. Moreover, they discuss the current understandin...

Cerebral malaria is the most severe complication caused by the malaria parasite P. falciparum. In the article "Cerebral Malaria and Neuronal Implications of Plasmodium Falciparum Infection: From Mechanisms to Advanced Model" (https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202202944), Oscar Bate Akide Ndunge, Nicole Kilian, and Mootaz M. Salman review the pathogenic...

Reorganization of host red blood cells by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum enables their sequestration via attachment to the microvasculature. This artificially increases the dwelling time of the infected red blood cells within inner organs such as the brain, which can lead to cerebral malaria. Cerebral malaria is the deadliest complicati...

Immunofluorescence labeling enables the detection and characterization of various parasite proteins presented on the surface of the infected red blood cell. Several approaches for immunofluorescence detection of red blood cell surface-presented proteins of Plasmodium spp. have been successfully established and published over the years. However, fin...

The knob-associated histidine-rich protein (KAHRP) plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of Plasmodium falciparum malaria by forming membrane protrusions in infected erythrocytes, which anchor parasite-encoded adhesins to the membrane skeleton. The resulting sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes in the microvasculature leads to severe dis...

In the presence of high abundance of exogenous fatty acids, cells either store fatty acids in lipid droplets or oxidize them in mitochondria. In this study, we aimed to explore a novel and direct role of mitochondrial fission in lipid homeostasis in HeLa cells. We observed the association between mitochondrial morphology and lipid droplet accumulat...

The knob-associated histidine-rich protein (KAHRP) plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of Plasmodium falciparum malaria by forming membrane protrusions in infected erythrocytes, which anchor parasite-encoded adhesins to the membrane skeleton. The resulting sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes in the microvasculature leads to severe dis...

Parasitic diseases like malaria tropica have been shaping human evolution and history since the beginning of mankind. After infection, the response of the human host ranges from asymptomatic to severe and may culminate in death. Therefore, proper examination of the parasite's biology is pivotal to deciphering unique molecular, biochemical and cell...

The bioenergetic function of mitochondrial fission is associated with uncoupled respiration or elimination of damaged mitochondria to maintain a healthy mitochondrial population. In the presence of a high abundance of exogenous fatty acids, cells can either store fatty acids in lipid droplets or oxidize them in mitochondria. Even though carnitine p...

The examination of the complex cell biology of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum usually relies on the time-consuming generation of transgenic parasites. Here, metabolic labeling and click chemistry are employed as a fast transfection-independent method for the microscopic examination of protein S-palmitoylation, an important post-tr...

Various diagnostic methods are available to detect the six human pathogenic Plasmodium species that replicate within host erythrocytes and cause different types of malaria. Every currently available diagnostic method has distinct advantages and disadvantages. There is still a high demand for simple, fast, and highly sensitive alternative diagnostic...

The apicomplexan parasite Babesia microti is the primary agent of human babesiosis, a malaria-like illness and potentially fatal tick-borne disease. Unlike its close relatives, the agents of human malaria, B. microti develops within human and mouse red blood cells in the absence of a parasitophorous vacuole, and its secreted antigens lack trafficki...

Babesia microti is the primary agent of human babesiosis, a potentially fatal malaria‐like illness with worldwide geographic distribution. Like its Plasmodium relatives, B. microti intraerythrocytic development is heavily dependent on its successful interaction with the host. While available data indicate that the parasite exports a large number of...

Human babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus Babesia Clinical cases caused by Babesia duncani have been associated with high parasite burden, severe pathology and death. In both mice and hamsters, the parasite causes uncontrolled fulminant infections, which ultimately lead to death. Resolving thes...

The lifecycle of malaria parasites in both their mammalian host and mosquito vector consists of multiple developmental stages that ensure proper replication and progeny survival. The transition between these stages is fueled by nutrients scavenged from the host and fed into specialized metabolic pathways of the parasite. One such pathway is used by...

Capitalizing on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing techniques and super-resolution nanoscopy, we have explored the role of the small GTPase ARF1 in mediating transport steps at the Golgi. Surprisingly, beside its well-established role in generating COPI vesicles, we find that ARF1 is additionally involved in the formation of long (∼ 3 μm), thin (∼ 110 nm dia...

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009 in Richmond, Virginia, USA, July 26 – July 30, 2009

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum exports a large number of proteins into its host erythrocyte to install functions necessary for parasite survival. Important structural components of the export machinery are membrane profiles of parasite origin, termed Maurer's clefts. These profiles span much of the distance between the parasite an...