Long term cultivation of Plasmodium falciparum in Aotus trivirgatus erythrocytes.
The erythrocytes of the Colombian owl monkey Aotus trivirgatus griseimembra can be used for the long-term in vitro cultivation of Plasmodium falciparum employing a modified Trager -Jensen method. Cultures are grown in HEPES-buffered RPMI-1640 using a 4% suspension of monkey erythrocytes and 10% pooled heat-inactivated human AB serum, with initial parasitemias in a range between 0.2 and 0.5%. Adaptation of new strains from human erythrocytes cultures can be performed by simply subculturing from human to owl monkey erythrocytes in a stepwise manner. When 5% human AB serum is included in cultures to support growth, as much as 5% monkey serum can be added in order to investigate serum effects, such as antibody activity against P. falciparum. The Aotus trivirgatus continuous culture system has provided a stable, consistent source of infected erythrocytes for in vitro experimentation, and the techniques developed have been used to further refine and support the animal experiments in progress.
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001029:Aotus trivirgatus / Q000097:blood*; D001769:Blood; D002427:Cebidae / Q000097:blood*; D003470:Culture Media; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000254:growth & development*
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D003470:Culture Media