title: Merocyanine 540-sensitized photoinactivation of human erythrocytes parasitized by Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the photosensitizing dye merocyanine 540 (MC540) as a means for extracorporeal purging of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes from human blood. Parasitized red blood cells bound more dye than nonparasitized cells, and exposure to MC540 and light under conditions that are relatively well tolerated by normal erythrocytes and normal pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells reduced the concentration of parasitized cells by as much as 1,000-fold. Cells parasitized by the chloroquine-sensitive HB3 clone and the chloroquine-resistant Dd2 clone of P falciparum were equally susceptible to MC540-sensitized photolysis. These data suggest the potential usefulness of MC540 in the purging of P falciparum-infected blood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226.
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dvorak
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Wellems
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sieber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum; D011744:Pyrimidinones / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D011744:Pyrimidinones; C003954:merocyanine dye; D002738:Chloroquine