TY - JOUR
T1 - Short-term cryopreservation and thawing have minimal effects on Plasmodium falciparum ex vivo invasion profile
AU - Thiam, Laty G.
AU - Ansah, Felix
AU - Niang, Makhtar
AU - Awandare, Gordon A.
AU - Aniweh, Yaw
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Thiam, Ansah, Niang, Awandare and Aniweh.
PY - 2022/9/20
Y1 - 2022/9/20
N2 - Ex vivo phenotyping of P. falciparum erythrocyte invasion diversity is important in the identification and down selection of potential malaria vaccine targets. However, due to the lack of appropriate laboratory facilities in remote areas of endemic countries, direct processing of P. falciparum clinical isolates is usually not feasible. Here, we investigated the combined effect of short-term cryopreservation and thawing processes on the ex vivo invasion phenotypes of P. falciparum isolates. Ex-vivo or in vitro invasion phenotyping assays were performed with P. falciparum clinical isolates prior to or following culture adaptation, respectively. All isolates were genotyped at Day 0 for parasite clonality. Subsequently, isolates that were successfully culture-adapted were genotyped again at Days 7, 15, 21, and 28-post adaptation. Invasion phenotyping assays were performed in isogenic isolates revived at different time points (3, 6, and 12 months) post-cryopreservation and the resulting data were compared to that from ex-vivo invasion data of matched isogenic parental isolates. We also show that short-term culture adaptation selects for parasite clonality and could be a driving force for variation in invasion phenotypes as compared to ex vivo data where almost all parasite clones of a given isolate are present. Interestingly, our data show little variation in the parasites’ invasion phenotype following short-term cryopreservation. Altogether, our data suggest that short-term cryopreservation of uncultured P. falciparum clinical isolates is a reliable mechanism for storing parasites for future use.
AB - Ex vivo phenotyping of P. falciparum erythrocyte invasion diversity is important in the identification and down selection of potential malaria vaccine targets. However, due to the lack of appropriate laboratory facilities in remote areas of endemic countries, direct processing of P. falciparum clinical isolates is usually not feasible. Here, we investigated the combined effect of short-term cryopreservation and thawing processes on the ex vivo invasion phenotypes of P. falciparum isolates. Ex-vivo or in vitro invasion phenotyping assays were performed with P. falciparum clinical isolates prior to or following culture adaptation, respectively. All isolates were genotyped at Day 0 for parasite clonality. Subsequently, isolates that were successfully culture-adapted were genotyped again at Days 7, 15, 21, and 28-post adaptation. Invasion phenotyping assays were performed in isogenic isolates revived at different time points (3, 6, and 12 months) post-cryopreservation and the resulting data were compared to that from ex-vivo invasion data of matched isogenic parental isolates. We also show that short-term culture adaptation selects for parasite clonality and could be a driving force for variation in invasion phenotypes as compared to ex vivo data where almost all parasite clones of a given isolate are present. Interestingly, our data show little variation in the parasites’ invasion phenotype following short-term cryopreservation. Altogether, our data suggest that short-term cryopreservation of uncultured P. falciparum clinical isolates is a reliable mechanism for storing parasites for future use.
KW - Plasmodium falciparum
KW - cryopreservation
KW - culture-adaptation
KW - invasion phenotype
KW - thawing protocols
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139191846&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fcimb.2022.997418
DO - 10.3389/fcimb.2022.997418
M3 - Article
C2 - 36204649
AN - SCOPUS:85139191846
SN - 2235-2988
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
M1 - 997418
ER -