Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Parasite Cultures and Their Use in Immunology

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite cultures and their use in immunology. Plasmodium falciparum is still the only malaria parasite species that can be maintained in long-term culture and is the best characterized of the plasmodia from the biochemical and molecular biological points of view. The availability of cultured parasites gave a strong impetus to research on immunity to the parasite and to efforts to develop a malaria vaccine. The life cycle of a parasite is complex. Infection starts with the entry of a sporozoite into the bloodstream, injected by a mosquito of the genus Anopheles . Of the life cycle stages, only the asexual blood stages are easy to culture in a standard laboratory. The only special requirements are an incubator devoted to parasite culture and a guaranteed supply of human serum and erythrocytes from a blood bank. However, it is possible, using specialized facilities and techniques, to obtain all stages of the life cycle in culture.