ISSN:
1550-7408
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
The effect of the cationic permeant fluorescent dye, rhodamine 123 (R123), on the in vivo growth of Plasmodium yoelii was examined. Plasmodium yoelii-infected mouse erythrocytes were incubated in vitro with R123 and injected intravenously into mice. Examination of daily parasitemias showed that R123 delayed parasite growth whereas rhodamine 110, a neutral compound, and fluorescein, a negatively charged fluorescent dye, did not. Infected erythrocytes treated with R123 were not cleared from the circulation even 7 h after injection. Quantitation of cell-associated R123 by spectrophotometry revealed that infected cells with increased levels of R123 considerably prolonged the 2% prepatent period, the time required for the parasite to develop a 2% parasitemia. Degenerating parasites within and outside the host erythrocytes were observed on day 1 of infection in the mice. Thus it follows that R123, which accumulated in infected erythrocytes, inhibits the growth of P. yoelii; moreover, when R123-labeled infected erythrocytes were treated with 1–10 μM carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), a proton ionophore, to release R123 from the cells, the inhibitory effect on the growth rate of P. yoelii was partially reversed.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1984.tb02968.x
