title: The effects of aspirin-containing serum in the continuous culture of Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: In vitro culture of Plasmodium falciparum-infected human erythrocytes (RBC) has permitted systematic study of human host-parasite relations. In this study the effect of aspirin in the culture system was examined by using serum from blood of fasting, healthy male volunteers, before and after the ingestion of aspirin. The addition of aspirin-containing serum disturbed parasite growth and development: 0-1/2 dilutions of treated/control sera inhibited parasite development, with nuclear pyknosis, pyknotic extracellular parasites (trophozoites) in the media, decreased numbers and sizes of "rings" (early trophozoites), and an increased number of later trophozoites and schizonts. Paradoxically, while the incorporation of [3H]isoleucine into protein was not affected by the aspirin-containing sera, the incorporation [3H]hypoxanthine was significantly changed and did not correlate with morphological evidence of cytotoxicity. Thus, the so-called "incorporation" of a radioactive tracer is not a fully reliable index of parasite growth in the presence of certain compounds. The findings underscore the importance, in this culture system which employs human serum, of avoiding serum from donors who have recently ingested aspirin.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001241:Aspirin / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001769:Blood; D003470:Culture Media; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D019271:Hypoxanthine; D007042:Hypoxanthines / Q000378:metabolism; D007532:Isoleucine / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D007042:Hypoxanthines; D007532:Isoleucine; D019271:Hypoxanthine; D001241:Aspirin