Generation of transgenic rodent malaria parasites by transfection of cell culture-derived merozoites

Kaiser, G., De Niz, M., Burda, P.-C., Niklaus, L., Stanway, R. L. and Heussler, V. (2017) Generation of transgenic rodent malaria parasites by transfection of cell culture-derived merozoites. Malaria Journal, 16, 305. (doi: 10.1186/s12936-017-1949-y) (PMID:28764716) (PMCID:PMC5540294)

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Abstract

Malaria research is greatly dependent on and has drastically advanced with the possibility of genetically modifying Plasmodium parasites. The commonly used transfection protocol by Janse and colleagues utilizes blood stage-derived Plasmodium berghei schizonts that have been purified from a blood culture by density gradient centrifugation. Naturally, this transfection protocol depends on the availability of suitably infected mice, constituting a time-based variable. In this study, the potential of transfecting liver stage-derived merozoites was explored. In cell culture, upon merozoite development, infected cells detach from the neighbouring cells and can be easily harvested from the cell culture supernatant. This protocol offers robust experimental timing and temporal flexibility. HeLa cells are infected with P. berghei sporozoites to obtain liver stage-derived merozoites, which are harvested from the cell culture supernatant and are transfected using the Amaxa Nucleofector(®) electroporation technology. Using this protocol, wild type P. berghei ANKA strain and marker-free PbmCherryHsp70-expressing P. berghei parasites were successfully transfected with DNA constructs designed for integration via single- or double-crossover homologous recombination. An alternative protocol for Plasmodium transfection is hereby provided, which uses liver stage-derived P. berghei merozoites for transfection. This protocol has the potential to substantially reduce the number of mice used per transfection, as well as to increase the temporal flexibility and robustness of performing transfections, if mosquitoes are routinely present in the laboratory. Transfection of liver stage-derived P. berghei parasites should enable generation of transgenic parasites within 8-18 days.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Financial support came from the Swiss National Foundation (310030_140691/1) (VTH) and the EVIMalaR EU network (FP7/2007-2013) (MDN and VTH).
Keywords:Liver stage-derived merozoites, Plasmodium berghei, transfection.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:De Niz, Dr Mariana
Authors: Kaiser, G., De Niz, M., Burda, P.-C., Niklaus, L., Stanway, R. L., and Heussler, V.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
Journal Name:Malaria Journal
Publisher:BioMed Central
ISSN:1475-2875
ISSN (Online):1475-2875
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 The Authors
First Published:First published in Malaria Journal 16:305
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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