Fig. 7

Detection of CYP450s and the inhibitory effect of primaquine on Plasmodium vivax liver-stage infection in imHCs. Basal expression levels of CYP450 isotypes were analysed in imHCs (a) and HC-04 (b) cells using real-time qPCR and are presented as the expression levels relative to those of the house-keeping gene GAPDH. The results are expressed as means ± standard errors of the means of three independent experiments. CYP450 expression levels after a 6-day PQ treatment were also measured in imHCs (a) and HC-04 cells (b). Hepatocytes were infected with Plasmodium sporozoites for 2 h prior to PQ treatment for 6 days. Exoerythocytic forms (EEs) were harvested and visualized by immunofluorescence staining. The number of EEs per well was counted and is shown as a percentage relative to the untreated control. PQ activity against the total, schizont (diameter > 5 µm), and small EE forms (diameter ≤ 5 µm) of P. vivax in imHCs (c) and HC-04 (d) were determined. Representative data from one P. vivax isolate are presented as means ± standard errors of the means from an experiment conducted in triplicate