What Are Three Ways in Which Plasmodium, the Causative Agent

question 1

Essay

What are three ways in which Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, is able to overcome our immune systems and medical treatment? Explain.

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Definitions:

Sodium-Potassium Pump

A membrane-bound transporter enzyme present in many cell (plasma) membranes that pumps sodium out of cells while pumping potassium into cells, thus maintaining the concentration and electrical gradients of these ions.

Endocytosis

Process by which a cell takes in a small amount of extracellular fluid (and its contents) by the ballooning inward of the plasma membrane.

Exocytosis

Process by which a cell expels a vesicle’s contents to extracellular fluid.

Entropy

A measure of disorder or randomness in a system, often associated with the second law of thermodynamics.