title: Rosetting is associated with increased Plasmodium falciparum in vivo multiplication rate in the Saimiri sciureus monkey.
abstract: Severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria in African children is associated with high peripheral parasite densities and high rate of rosette-forming parasites. To explore the relationship between rosette formation and parasite density in vivo, we compared the multiplication rate of a rosette-forming variant (varO) of the Palo Alto line with a sibling non-rosetting variant (varR) in splenectomized Saimiri monkeys. The multiplication rate of varO parasites was 1.5-fold higher than that of the varR variant. This indicates that rosetting is indeed associated with high parasite multiplication efficiency in vivo and, as such, may contribute to the high parasite densities observed in severe malaria.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, BP 6010, 97306 Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana.
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Scanf
authors.forename: Inès
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vigan-Womas
authors.forename: Hugues
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Contamin
authors.forename: Micheline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guillotte
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bischoff
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mercereau-Puijalon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D018512:Parasitemia; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000254:growth & development*; D012453:Saimiri