Name: plasmodium falciparum gametocyte culture and mosquito infection through artificial membrane feeding
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Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Culture and Mosquito Infection Through Artificial Membrane Feeding at JoVE.com

Authors thank Bloomberg Philanthropies for financial support to Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI). This work would not have been possible without the expertise provided by JHMRI insect and parasitology core facilities.

Blood collections described below have been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Johns Hopkins University. P. falciparum is cultured in fresh RBCs under sterile conditions in a biosafety level 2 (BSL2) facility and caution is used to handle biological materials. After each step involving blood or blood products, every plasticware or glassware is rinsed with 10% bleach within the hood prior to proper disposal.
1. Reagents and preparation
<ol>
	<li>Parasite isolate P. fal...

<ol>
	<li>World Health Organization. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=World+Malaria+Report.">World Malaria Report.</a> World Health Organization. , (2018).</li><li>Sinden, R. E., Smalley, M. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Gametocytogenesis+of+Plasmodium+falciparum+in+vitro:+The+cell-cycle.">Gametocytogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro: The cell-cycle.</a> Parasitology. 79 (2), 277-296 (1979).</li><li>Sinden, R. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sexual+Development+of+Malarial+Parasites.">Sexual Development of Malarial Parasites.</a> Advances in Parasitology. 22, 153-216 (1983).</li><li>Joice, R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Plasmodium+falciparum+transmission+stages+accumulate+in+the+human+bone+marrow.">Plasmodium falciparum transmission stages accumulate in the human bone marrow.</a> Science Translational Medicine. 6 (244), 5 (2014).</li><li>Abdulsalam, A. H., Sabeeh, N., Bain, B. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Immature+Plasmodium+falciparum+gametocytes+in+bone+marrow.">Immature Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes in bone marrow.</a> American Journal of Hematology. 85 (12), 943 (2010).</li><li>Ghosh, A. K., Jacobs-Lorena, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Plasmodium+sporozoite+invasion+of+the+mosquito+salivary+gland.">Plasmodium sporozoite invasion of the mosquito salivary gland.</a> Current Opinion in Microbiology. 12 (4), 394-400 (2009).</li><li>Bennink, S., Kiesow, M. J., Pradel, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+development+of+malaria+parasites+in+the+mosquito+midgut.">The development of malaria parasites in the mosquito midgut.</a> Cellular Microbiology. 18 (7), 905-918 (2016).</li><li>Trager, W., Jenson, J. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cultivation+of+malarial+parasites.">Cultivation of malarial parasites.</a> Nature. 273 (5664), 621-622 (1978).</li><li>Duffy, S., Loganathan, S., Holleran, J. P., Avery, V. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Large-scale+production+of+Plasmodium+falciparum+gametocytes+for+malaria+drug+discovery.">Large-scale production of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes for malaria drug discovery.</a> Nature Protocols. 11 (5), 976-992 (2016).</li><li>Delves, M. J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Routine+in+vitro+culture+of+P.+Falciparum+gametocytes+to+evaluate+novel+transmission-blocking+interventions.">Routine in vitro culture of P. Falciparum gametocytes to evaluate novel transmission-blocking interventions.</a> Nature Protocols. 11 (9), 1668-1680 (2016).</li><li>Habtewold, T., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Streamlined+SMFA+and+mosquito+dark-feeding+regime+significantly+improve+malaria+transmission-blocking+assay+robustness+and+sensitivity.">Streamlined SMFA and mosquito dark-feeding regime significantly improve malaria transmission-blocking assay robustness and sensitivity.</a> Malaria Journal. 18 (1), 24 (2019).</li><li>Demanga, C. G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+development+of+sexual+stage+malaria+gametocytes+in+a+Wave+Bioreactor.">The development of sexual stage malaria gametocytes in a Wave Bioreactor.</a> Parasites and Vectors. 10 (1), 216 (2017).</li><li>Brockelman, C. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Conditions+favoring+gametocytogenesis+in+the+continuous+culture+of+Plasmodium+falciparum.">Conditions favoring gametocytogenesis in the continuous culture of Plasmodium falciparum.</a> Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 29, 454-458 (1982).</li><li>Meibalan, E., Marti, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Biology+of+malaria+transmission.">Biology of malaria transmission.</a> Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine. 7, (2017).</li><li>Essuman, E., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+novel+gametocyte+biomarker+for+superior+molecular+detection+of+the+plasmodium+falciparum+infectious+reservoirs.">A novel gametocyte biomarker for superior molecular detection of the plasmodium falciparum infectious reservoirs.</a> Journal of Infectious Diseases. 216 (10), 1264-1272 (2017).</li><li>Sim&#245;es, M. L., Mlambo, G., Tripathi, A., Dong, Y., Dimopoulos, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Immune+regulation+of+plasmodium+is+anopheles+species+specific+and+infection+intensity+dependent.">Immune regulation of plasmodium is anopheles species specific and infection intensity dependent.</a> mBio. 8 (5), 01631 (2017).</li><li>Oakley, M. S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Transcriptome+analysis+based+detection+of+Plasmodium+falciparum+development+in+Anopheles+stephensi+mosquitoes.">Transcriptome analysis based detection of Plasmodium falciparum development in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes.</a> Scientific Reports. 8, 11568 (2018).</li><li>Saraiva, R. G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chromobacterium+spp.+mediate+their+anti-Plasmodium+activity+through+secretion+of+the+histone+deacetylase+inhibitor+romidepsin.">Chromobacterium spp. mediate their anti-Plasmodium activity through secretion of the histone deacetylase inhibitor romidepsin.</a> Scientific Reports. 8, 6176 (2018).</li><li>Tao, D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sex-partitioning+of+the+Plasmodium+falciparum+stage+V+gametocyte+proteome+provides+insight+into+falciparum-specific+cell+biology.">Sex-partitioning of the Plasmodium falciparum stage V gametocyte proteome provides insight into falciparum-specific cell biology.</a> Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. 13 (10), 2705-2724 (2014).</li><li>Grabias, B., Zheng, H., Mlambo, G., Tripathi, A. K., Kumar, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+sensitive+enhanced+chemiluminescent-ELISA+for+the+detection+of+Plasmodium+falciparum+circumsporozoite+antigen+in+midguts+of+Anopheles+stephensi+mosquitoes.">A sensitive enhanced chemiluminescent-ELISA for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite antigen in midguts of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes.</a> Journal of Microbiological Methods. 108, 19-24 (2015).</li><li>Ferrer, P., Vega-Rodriguez, J., Tripathi, A. K., Jacobs-Lorena, M., Sullivan, D. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Antimalarial+iron+chelator+FBS0701+blocks+transmission+by+Plasmodium+falciparum+gametocyte+activation+inhibition.">Antimalarial iron chelator FBS0701 blocks transmission by Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte activation inhibition.</a> Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 59 (3), 1418-1426 (2015).</li><li>Sanders, N. G., Sullivan, D. J., Mlambo, G., Dimopoulos, G., Tripathi, A. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Gametocytocidal+screen+identifies+novel+chemical+classes+with+Plasmodium+falciparum+transmission+blocking+activity.">Gametocytocidal screen identifies novel chemical classes with Plasmodium falciparum transmission blocking activity.</a> PLoS One. 9 (8), 105817 (2014).</li><li>Lindner, S. E., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Transcriptomics+and+proteomics+reveal+two+waves+of+translational+repression+during+the+maturation+of+malaria+parasite+sporozoites.">Transcriptomics and proteomics reveal two waves of translational repression during the maturation of malaria parasite sporozoites.</a> Nature Communications. 10, 4964 (2019).</li><li>McLean, K. J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Generation+of+Transmission-Competent+Human+Malaria+Parasites+with+Chromosomally-Integrated+Fluorescent+Reporters.">Generation of Transmission-Competent Human Malaria Parasites with Chromosomally-Integrated Fluorescent Reporters.</a> Scientific Reports. 9, 13131 (2019).</li><li>Espinosa, D. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Proteolytic+Cleavage+of+the+Plasmodium+falciparum+Circumsporozoite+Protein+Is+a+Target+of+Protective+Antibodies.">Proteolytic Cleavage of the Plasmodium falciparum Circumsporozoite Protein Is a Target of Protective Antibodies.</a> Journal of Infectious Diseases. 212 (7), 1111-1119 (2015).</li><li>Swearingen, K. E., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Interrogating+the+Plasmodium+Sporozoite+Surface:+Identification+of+Surface-Exposed+Proteins+and+Demonstration+of+Glycosylation+on+CSP+and+TRAP+by+Mass+Spectrometry-Based+Proteomics.">Interrogating the Plasmodium Sporozoite Surface: Identification of Surface-Exposed Proteins and Demonstration of Glycosylation on CSP and TRAP by Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics.</a> PLoS Pathogens. 12 (4), 1005606 (2016).</li><li>Ifediba, T., Vanderberg, J. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Complete+in+vitro+maturation+of+Plasmodium+falciparum+gametocytes.">Complete in vitro maturation of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes.</a> Nature. 294 (5839), 364-366 (1981).</li><li>Miura, K., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=An+inter-laboratory+comparison+of+standard+membrane-feeding+assays+for+evaluation+of+malaria+transmission-blocking+vaccines.">An inter-laboratory comparison of standard membrane-feeding assays for evaluation of malaria transmission-blocking vaccines.</a> Malaria Journal. 15, 463 (2016).</li><li>Miura, K., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Qualification+of+Standard+Membrane-Feeding+Assay+with+Plasmodium+falciparum+Malaria+and+Potential+Improvements+for+Future+Assays.">Qualification of Standard Membrane-Feeding Assay with Plasmodium falciparum Malaria and Potential Improvements for Future Assays.</a> PLoS One. 8 (3), 57909 (2013).</li></ol>

Methods described here have been successfully used at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute for more than 10 years15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22. Gametocytes produced using this protocol have been used for high throughput gametocytocidal assays<sup class="x...

Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites and is transmitted to their vertebrate hosts via infectious bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. According to the 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) report, there were an estimated 405,000 deaths, from a total of 228 million cases of malaria1. Most of the malaria related deaths were concentrated in the African region, especially among children below five years of age. While the overall incidence rate of malaria has declined globally from 2010, in recent years decline has plateaued and additional control strategies are urgently needed to eliminate the disease.
Cyclic asexual blood stages of malaria parasites cause disease pathogenesis and a small subset of these differentiate into female and male gametocytes. Plasmodium falciparum&#160;gametocytes are unique in nature as they take 7-10 days to develop through five morphologically distinct stages. Immature gametocytes from stage I to IV are sequestered in bone marrow parenchyma and largely remain absent from peripheral circulation2,3,4,5. Erythrocytes infected with mature stage V gametocytes are released in the bloodstream and freely circulate to be taken up by mosquitoes. Once inside the mosquito midgut, gametocytes are activated, through a change in temperature and exposure to the midgut environment, transform into female and male gametes and begin development of the mosquito stages, which culminates with the infective stages of sporozoites in the mosquito salivary glands6,7.
Since Trager and Jenson8 described a standardized method to culture P. falciparum, studies on the asexual blood stages have greatly advanced. However, the lack of a reliable culture system for sexual stages has made it difficult to study P. falciparum gametocytes, transmission biology and mosquito stages. In recent years, several methods have been published which have aided laboratories in establishing gametocyte cultures9,10,11,12. This manuscript describes standardized and reliable protocol to culture P. falciparum gametocytes that can represent a valuable resource for the malaria research community. This method enables the robust production of mature and infectious gametocytes which along with a standardized mosquito feeding protocol, results in highly reliable mosquito infectivity. These methods were established to maintain uninterrupted supply of gametocytes, and mosquito stage parasites. In this manuscript, we describe a thorough gametocyte culture protocol (Figure 1), preparation of glass membrane feeders and infection of mosquitoes using these membrane feeders (Figure 2), dissection of midgut (Figure 3) and salivary gland of mosquitoes (Figure 4), and quantification of infection in mosquito after midgut and salivary gland dissection.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>10% Sugar solution</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10ml serological pipet</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>357551</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>15 ml conical tube</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>352096</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1ml serological pipet</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>357521</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>25 ml serological pipet</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>357535</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>37&#176;C Incubator</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 ml conical tube</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>352070</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5ml serological pipet</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>357543</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6 well tissue culture plates</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>353046</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>70% Ethanol</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>9&#34; glass pipet</td>
			<td>Fisherbrand</td>
			<td>13-678-6B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anopheles Mosquitoes</td>
			<td>JHMRI, Insectary core</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>We use A. stephensi or A. gambiae (keele)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>cell counter</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Circulating water bath</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>fine tip forceps</td>
			<td>Fisherbrand</td>
			<td>12-000-122</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Geimsa stain</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>GS1L</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass desiccator</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass membrane feeder</td>
			<td>Chemglass Life Sciences</td>
			<td>CG183570</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass slides</td>
			<td>Fisherbrand</td>
			<td>12-552-3</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HBSS</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>H6648</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human Blood O+</td>
			<td>JHU</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Wash RBCs three times with RPMI and refrigerate at 50% heamatocrit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human Serum O+</td>
			<td>Interstate blood bank</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Pool at-least 6 units of serum from different donors and freeze down aliquots at -20&#176;C.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hypoxanthine</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>H9337</td>
			<td>Make 500x stock in 1M NaOH</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mercurochrome</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>M7011</td>
			<td>Prepare 1% stock solution in PBS that can be diluted to 0.1% when needed</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micro Pipette</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microscope</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Any microscope with 10x, 40x and 100x objective will work.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mosquito cups</td>
			<td>Neptune cups</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>N-acetylglucosamine</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>A3286</td>
			<td>Optional and needed only when pure gametocytes are required.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Netting</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Make sure it can contain mosquitoes and allow blood feeding</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Parafilm</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Petri dish</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>249964</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pipet tips</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pipetman</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plasmodium falciparum NF54</td>
			<td>BEI Resources</td>
			<td>MRA-1000</td>
			<td>Freeze down large numbers of early passage culture to make sure you have a constant supply</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RPMI 1640</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>CV-041-CV</td>
			<td>Media contains glutamine and HEPES</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Slide warmer</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium bicarbonate</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>S6297</td>
			<td>Optional for media, add only when using malaria gas mix during culture incubation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>water bath</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xanthurenic Acid</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>D120804</td>
			<td>For flagellation media</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

plasmodium falciparum gametocyte culture and mosquito infection through artificial membrane feeding

Malaria remains one of the most important public health problems, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Malaria is a mosquito borne disease transmitted through an infectious bite from the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria control will eventually rely on a multitude of approaches, which includes ways to block transmission to, through and from mosquitoes. To study mosquito stages of malaria parasites in the laboratory, we have optimized a protocol to culture highly infectious Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes, a parasite stage required for transmission from the human host to the mosquito vector. P. falciparum gametocytes mature through five morphologically distinct steps, which takes approximately 1-2 weeks. Gametocyte culture described in this protocol is completed in 15 days and are infectious to mosquitoes from days 15-18. These protocols were developed to maintain a continuous cycle of infection competent gametocytes and to maintain uninterrupted supply of mosquito stages of the parasite. Here, we describe the methodology of gametocyte culture and how to infect mosquitoes with these parasites using glass membrane feeders.

Here we present results from a series of membrane feeds using P. falciparum NF54 gametocyte cultures generated using the protocol above (see (Figure 5). Gametocyte culture was initiated with approximately 0.5% mixed stage asexual culture on Day 0, which grew to a peak parasitemia of approximately 15% by Day 4 and Day 5. As shown in Figure 5A at this high parasitemia, the parasites are stressed and the asexual stage culture crashes. However, this stress ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Culture and Mosquito Infection Through Artificial Membrane Feeding at JoVE.com

Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Culture and Mosquito Infection Through Artificial Membrane Feeding

Detailed investigations on mosquito stages of malaria parasites are critical to design effective transmission blocking strategies. This protocol demonstrates how to effectively culture infectious gametocytes and then feed these gametocytes to mosquitoes to generate mosquito stages of P. falciparum.

Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Culture and Mosquito Infection Through Artificial Membrane Feeding

Malaria remains one of the most important public health problems, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Malaria is a mosquito borne disease ...

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Protocol for Mosquito Rearing A. gambiae

This protocol describes mosquito rearing in the insectary. The insectary rooms are maintained at 28&deg;C and ~80% humidity, with a 12 hr. day/night ...

Protocol for Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Mosquitoes and Infection Phenotype Determination

Once a gene is identified as potentially refractory for malaria, it must be evaluated for its role in preventing Plasmodium infections within the ...

Crystallizing Membrane Proteins for Structure Determination using Lipidic Mesophases

A detailed protocol for crystallizing membrane proteins by using lipidic mesophases is described. This method has variously been referred to as the ...

Use of a Robot for High-throughput Crystallization of Membrane Proteins in Lipidic Mesophases

Structure-function studies of membrane proteins greatly benefit from having available high-resolution 3-D structures of the type provided through ...

High-fat Feeding Paradigm for Larval Zebrafish: Feeding, Live Imaging, and Quantification of Food Intake

Zebrafish are emerging as a model of dietary lipid processing and metabolic disease. This protocol describes how to feed larval zebrafish a lipid-rich ...

Ground State Depletion Super-resolution Imaging in Mammalian Cells

Advances in fluorescent microscopy and cell biology are intimately correlated, with the enhanced ability to visualize cellular events often leading to ...

Isolation and Culture of Human Mature Adipocytes Using Membrane Mature Adipocyte Aggregate Cultures (MAAC)

Isolation and Culture of Human Mature Adipocytes Using Membrane Mature Adipocyte Aggregate Cultures MAAC

White adipose tissue (WAT) dysregulation plays a central role in development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). To develop new treatments ...

Large-Scale Preparation of Synovial Fluid Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes by 3D Bioreactor Culture

Exosomes secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been suggested as promising candidates for cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis treatment. ...

Mosquito-Associated Virus Isolation from Field-Collected Mosquitoes

With the broad application of sequencing technologies, many novel virus-like sequences have been discovered in arthropods, including mosquitoes. The two ...