Summary
Synchronization ofPlasmodium falciparum cultured in vitro results in a one-step growth pattern that allows the study of stage-specific metabolic activities of the parasites. Lactic acid (LA) was selected as a metabolic marker, and the concentration of this end product found in spent media was correlated with the different erythrocytic stages of the parasites. When the medium was changed at 12 h intervals, cultures containing predominantly trophozoites produced 3.66±0.55 μmol LA per 12 h per 107 parasitized cells (n=26), an amount of LA that is about 8 to 20 times higher than that found in corresponding cultures containing predominantly ring forms. Depending on the stage of development, parasitized red blood cells produced between 5 and 100 times more LA than uninfected erythrocytes (3.72±0.62 μmol LA per 12 hours per 109 red blood cells) (n=41) when cultured under identical conditions. The intraerythrocytic development of the parasites was not impaired by exposure to extracellular concentrations of LA up to 12 mM over a 12 h period. The growth resulting in such cultures was described as uninhibited and was characterized by a multiplication index of 10 or higher. Above the threshold of 12 mM of LA, progressive inhibition of parasite development occurred. The stage-specific LA production reported can be used to predict the amount of LA that will have accumulated at the end of a subsequent 12 h incubation period during synchronized in vitro growth ofPlasmodium falciparum. Using these values, it is possible to establish an optimal medium exchange schedule, thereby assuring uninhibited growth and a correspondingly high parasite yield.
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J. W. Z. was supported during part of this study by a long-term fellowship of the European Molecular Biology Organization, Heidelberg, West Germany, followed by a Research Associateship from the National Research Council, Washington, D.C. The project was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council to J. G. S. and by the Naval Research and Development Command, Work Unit No. 3M 162 770 A871 AE 312. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the U.S. Navy Department or the naval service at large.
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Zolg, J.W., Macleod, A.J., Scaife, J.G. et al. The accumulation of lactic acid and its influence on the growth ofPlasmodium falciparum in synchronized cultures. In Vitro 20, 205–215 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02618189
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02618189