1.
S Afr Med J
; 73(12): 720-2, 1988 Jun 18.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-3289127
ABSTRACT
Sixteen southern African isolates of Plasmodium falciparum were successfully established and maintained in gassed tissue culture flasks which were either held in a static position or shaken. Shaken cultures yielded 48-hour growth rates ranging from 3.9-fold to 9.5-fold and peak parasitaemias ranging from 9% to 27%. Growth rates in static flasks were lower, ranging from 1.8-fold to 4.2-fold every 48 hours with peak parasitaemias ranging from 4% to 12%. Four of the established isolates were treated so as to promote gametocytogenesis and the rate of gametocyte production was found to be high. The mean percentage gametocytes by day 20-25 was 4.2% of erythrocytes, which represented approximately 50% of total parasites.