The establishment of a Plasmodium vivaxin vitro culture system is critical for the development of new vaccine, drugs and diagnostic tests. Although short-term cultures have been successfully set up, their reproducibility in laboratories without direct access to P. vivax-infected patients has been limited by the need for fresh parasite isolates. We explored the possibility of using parasite isolates and reticulocytes, both cryopreserved, to perform invasion and initiate short-term culture. Invasion results obtained with both cryopreserved isolates and reticulocytes were similar to those obtained with fresh samples. This method should be easily replicated in laboratories outside endemic areas and will substantially contribute to the development of a continuous P. vivax culture. In addition, this model could be used for testing vaccine candidates as well as for studying invasion-specific molecular mechanisms.
Graphical abstract
Highlights
► Cryopreserved Plasmodium vivax isolates and reticulocytes were used to perform invasion assays. ► Invasion results with frozen isolates were similar to those obtained with fresh isolates. ► The possibility of starting a short-term culture after invasion was explored. ► This method will facilitate P. vivax research outside endemic areas.