Fig. 6: Pre-infection of mosquitoes with CSPmut reduces parasite burden when challenged with RFP-expressing WT parasites.
From: Malaria oocysts require circumsporozoite protein to evade mosquito immunity
Mosquitoes infected with Plasmodium yoelii CSPwt or CSPmut parasites were re-challenged with P. yoelii-RFP 3 days after the first blood meal. a The average number of P. yoelii-RFP oocysts in mosquitoes (n = 60) pre-infected with or without P. yoelii CSPwt or CSPmut parasite at day 7 PI. b A representative image of P. yoelii oocysts in mosquitoes pre-infected with P. yoelii CSPwt or CSPmut parasites under the light microscope and using immunofluorescence, respectively (left); the percentage of melanized oocysts in mosquitoes (n = 36) pre-infected with P. yoelii CSPwt or CSPmut parasites at the indicated time points were compared (right); scale bar 50 μm. The average number of hemolymph sporozoites (c) in mosquitoes (n = 45), and salivary gland sporozoites (d) in mosquitoes (n = 90) pre-infected with P. yoelii CSPwt or CSPmut parasites were compared at the indicated times. The average number of P. yoelii-RFP oocysts (e) in mosquitoes (n = 60), the percentage of melanized oocysts (f) in mosquitoes (n = 36), the average number of hemolymph sporozoites (g) in mosquitoes (n = 45), and salivary gland sporozoites (h) in mosquitoes (n = 60) pre-infected with CSPmut parasite were compared after NOX5 knockdown. i The mRNA levels of TEP1, GNBP-B1, and Rel1 in mosquitoes (n = 15) pre-infected with P. yoelii CSPmut parasites at day 5 PI after NOX5 knockdown were determined using real-time PCR. For box-plot diagram (a, e): middle line represents median; boxes extend from the 25th to 75th percentiles. The whiskers mark the 10th and 90th percentiles. A two-sided Student’s t-test was used for the statistical analysis. The data are presented as the means ± SD; ns, no significance; p-values are shown. The data were combined based on three independent experiments (a–i). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
