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Expert
Reviews in Molecular Medicine: http://www.expertreviews.org/
Accession information: Vol. 8; Issue 6; 24 March 2006 Abstract
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Plasmodium life cycle
Tracey J. Lamb, Douglas E. Brown, Alexandre J. Potocnik and Jean Langhorne
Figure 1. Plasmodium life cycle. A bite from an infectious mosquito results in the transfer of sporozoites into the blood stream of the human host, which then travel to the liver. Parasite replication occurs in the liver, leading to the release of merozoites into the bloodstream. The merozoites bind to the surface of the red blood cell (RBC) and enter the RBC via an active invasion process. The parasite then undergoes growth through the ring and trophozoite stages, finally producing schizonts containing multiple merozoites (erythrogenic cycle). Maturation of the schizont leads to the destruction of RBCs and release of merozoites into the bloodstream, which invade further RBCs. Occasionally, parasite maturation will result in the production of gametocytes. These are released into the bloodstream and are subsequently taken up by the mosquito, via a bite, and then undergo the sexual stage of development (sporogenic cycle).
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