A cost-effective scheme developed for studying human malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum

Abstract

Research in human malaria disease has consistently been hindered in developing countries where this disease is endemic, due to the prohibitive cost of constructing and maintaining currently available experimental mouse models. Our goal, therefore, was to develop a cost-effective mouse model that may be used as research tool for studying human malaria disease. Plasmodium falciparum-infected human blood samples were cultured invitro for 92 hours, and invivo malaria infection was induced by intraperitoneally injecting 0.5ml of the Plasmodium falciparum cultures into experimental mice, which were modified by the application of immunosuppressive and humanization protocols in which aspirin (4mg/kg), doxycycline (4mg/kg), and 0.5ml human blood that retained all of its cellular components (erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets) were repeatedly injected via the intraperitoneal route. Data obtained showed that the invitro-cultured Plasmodium falciparum significantly retained its infectivity and immunogenicity, since all the 20 mice inoculated exhibited peripheral blood parasitaemia. Quinine chemotherapy using standard antimalarial drug (73mg quinine/kg), however, induced significant suppression of the peripheral blood parasitaemia in the infected mice. Our results suggest that there is a substantial possibility of inducing and eradicating human malaria disease in our mouse model (humanized non-genetically manipulated mouse model) when used as a substitute for the conventional mouse models (humanized genetically manipulated mouse models).

Keywords: Synchronized, Invitro, Invivo, Inocula, Immunosuppressed, Parasitaemia, Intraperitoneal,                Infectivity.