Disruption or truncation of Pf332 affects the membrane shear elastic modulus of RBCs infected by mature stages of P falciparum. (A) Membrane shear elastic modulus of uninfected RBCs and iRBCs from 3D7, 3D7ΔPf332 (11G7, 12F3, 13E2, and 13F7), 3D7ΔPf332a (3F3 and 12H9), and 3D7ΔPf332b (5G1 and 13F5) quantified by single-cell micropipette aspiration. Each point represents the membrane shear elastic modulus for an individual RBC. Horizontal bars represent the median of all data in each group. (B) Data for individual RBCs shown in panel A pooled by group to more clearly indicate the overall level (mean + SEM) of membrane rigidification induced by either 3D7, Pf332 knockout (KO), or Pf332 truncation mutant (Truncation) parasites. The shear elastic modulus for normal, uninfected RBCs is shown for comparison (RBC). *** indicates significant differences between groups (P < .001 by one-way analysis of variance).