Vh. Mann et al., THE EFFECTS OF BISTRATENE-A ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM IN CULTURE, International journal for parasitology, 26(1), 1996, pp. 117-121
The effects of the marine ascidian compound bistratene A on in vitro c
ultures of Plasmodium falciparum were assessed. Concentrations from 0
to 1.5 mu g ml(-1) of the compound were tested. The parasitaemia in as
ynchronous cultures treated with bistratene A increased normally over
the first 40 h, then decreased leaving only gametocytes. When synchron
ized cultures were treated with a constant dose of 50 ng ml(-1), gamet
ocytes developed more rapidly than they did in control cultures. In ad
dition, gametocytes developed in drug-treated cultures of P. falciparu
m that normally do not produce gametocytes. Bistratene A appears to in
hibit merozoite invasion as well as to induce gametocytogenesis.