Humanized mice for investigating sustained Plasmodium vivax blood-stage infections and transmission
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Plasmodium vivax is the most widespread human malaria parasite. Due to the presence of extravascular reservoirs and relapsing infections from dormant liver stages, P. vivax is particularly difficult to control and eliminate. Experimental research is hampered by the inability to maintain P. vivax cultures in vitro, due to its tropism for immature red blood cells (RBCs). Here, we describe a new humanized mice model that can support efficient human erythropoiesis and maintain long-lasting multiplication of inoculated cryopreserved P. vivax parasites and their sexual differentiation, including in bone marrow. Mature gametocytes were transmitted to Anopheles mosquitoes, which led to the formation of salivary gland sporozoites. Importantly, blood-stage P. vivax parasites were maintained after the secondary transfer of fresh or frozen infected bone marrow cells to naïve chimeras. This model provides a unique tool for investigating, in vivo, the biology of intraerythrocytic P. vivax.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Topic: Malaria Research and Control
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,328
Funders: Alliance Française contre les Maladies Parasitaires, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Radboud Universiteit, Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum, Université de Paris, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
OpenAlex ID: W4285493750