ArticleMalaria journal2024
Simple supplementation of serum-free medium produces gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum that transmit to mosquitoes.
Article in Malaria journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Characterisation of the thermal and non-thermal stress conditions that activate the Plasmodium falciparum AP2-HS-dependent heat-shock response.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- When a mean can be meaningless: evaluating mosquito infections withParasitology · 2025Review
- Induction of gametocytogenesis in human malaria parasites: from stress to genome editing.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHuman serum is a major component of Plasmodium falciparum culture medium, and can be replaced with AlbuMAX
methodsSeveral commercially-available media supplements were tested for their ability to support parasite growth and production of P. falciparum (3D7) gametocytes in standard RPMI1640 medium containing 0.5% AlbuMAX. The impact on asexual growth and gametocyte production with each supplement was assessed and compared to standard RPMI1640 medium containing 10% human serum, as well as to medium containing 0.5% AlbuMAX alone. The infectivity of gametocytes produced with one supplement to Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto was assessed by standard membrane feeding assay and measuring both prevalence of infection and oocyst intensity.
resultsSupplementation of medium containing 0.5% AlbuMAX with five supplements did not affect asexual growth of P. falciparum, and four of the five supplements supported early gametocyte production. The supplement producing the highest number of gametocytes, ITS-X, was further investigated and was found to support the production of mature gametocytes. Infection prevalence and oocyst intensity did not differ significantly between mosquitoes given a membrane feed containing gametocytes grown in medium with 0.5% AlbuMAX + ITS-X and those grown in medium with 10% human serum. Infection prevalence and oocyst intensity was significantly higher in case of ITS-X supplementation when compared to AlbuMAX alone. Infectious gametocytes were also produced from two field clones using ITS-X supplementation.
conclusionsSerum-free medium supplemented with ITS-X was able to support the growth of gametocytes of P. falciparum that were as infectious to An. gambiae as those grown in medium with 10% serum. This is the first fully serum-free culture system able to produce highly infectious gametocytes, thereby removing the requirement for access to serum for transmission assays.
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