Plasmodium species have a complex life cycle, shared between a mosquito vector and a vertebrate host. After infection through a mosquito bite, sporozoites migrate to the liver and undergo an initial proliferation phase in hepatocytes. After differentiation, merozoites are released into the blood where they invade and multiply within red blood cells. Some merozoites differentiate into gametocytes, which can be ingested during a subsequent blood meal and undergo sexual reproduction in the mosquito. While erythrocytes provide the parasite sanctuary from the immune system, the spleen eventually detects and destroys the increasingly inflexible erythrocytes. To prevent destruction by the spleen, the parasite exports adhesive PfEMP1 proteins to the red blood cell surface, causing red blood cells to form rosettes and adhere to capillary walls, disrupting circulation and triggering the symptoms of severe malaria.