Plasmodium chabaudi Merozoites Obtained through a Simpler Method Do Not Survive in Classically Activated Macrophages

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 105
• Main Authors: Rodrigues, Pedro Souto, Azeredo, Milena de Farias, Almeida, Natália de Souza, de Almeida, Gisela Garcia Cabral Galaxe, Wanderley, João Luiz Mendes, Seabra, Sergio Henrique, DaMatta, Renato Augusto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 05-01-2024; MDPI
• Subjects: activated macrophage; Animal models; Animals; Antiparasitic agents; Erythrocytes; filtration; Flow cytometry; Infections; Infectivity; Macrophages; Malaria; merozoite; Merozoites; Microscopy; Parasites; Plasmodium chabaudi; Protease inhibitors; Proteinase inhibitors; Schizonts; Ultrastructure; Vaccines; Vector-borne diseases; activated macrophage; filtration; erythrocytes; merozoite; Plasmodium chabaudi
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12010105

Malaria is caused by apicomplexan parasites of the
genus.
is an excellent animal model for the study of human malaria caused by
. Merozoites invade erythrocytes but are also found in other host cells including macrophages from the spleen and liver. Methodologies for obtaining merozoites usually involve treatment with protease inhibitors. However, merozoites obtained in this way may have their enzymatic profile altered and, therefore, are not ideal for cell-interaction assays. We report the obtainment of
merozoites naturally egressed from a synchronous erythrocyte population infected with schizonts forms. Merozoites had their infectivity and ultrastructure analyzed. Interaction assays were performed with mice erythrocytes and classically activated mice peritoneal macrophages, a very well-established classic model. Obtained merozoites were able to kill mice and efficiently infect erythrocytes. Interestingly, a lower merozoite:erythrocyte ratio resulted in a higher percentage of infected erythrocytes. We describe a simpler method for obtaining viable and infective merozoites. Classically activated macrophages killed merozoites, suggesting that these host cells may not serve as reservoirs for these parasites. These findings have implications for our understanding of
merozoite biology and may improve the comprehension of their host-parasite relationship.