Plasmodium falciparum: enhanced gametocyte formation in vitro in reticulocyte-rich blood.
Concentrates of late stage parasites of the gametocyte-forming clone HB-3 were mixed with blood rich in reticulocytes from anemic patients, or with normal control blood, and kept under culture conditions for 4 days. Significantly more gametocytes were always formed in the reticulocyte-rich blood than in the control. This was true whether the anemic blood supported a larger asexual parasitemia than the control, or a lower one, or the same and without regard to the cause of the anemia. Gametocytes as a percentage of asexual forms were up to 10 times higher in reticulocyte-rich blood than in normal blood.
Trager
W
W
Rockefeller Univerisity, New York, New York 10021, USA.
Gill
G S
GS
Lawrence
C
C
Nagel
R L
RL
D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching; D005718:Gametogenesis; D006801:Humans; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000502:physiology*; D012156:Reticulocytes / Q000469:parasitology*