Plasmodium vinckei: suppression of mouse infections with desferrioxamine B

Plasmodium vinckei kills NMRI mice within 6 days after infection. Treatment of infected animals with desferrioxamine B for 5 days was found to suppress the parasitemia in a dose-dependent manner. The desferrioxamine B-iron complex (DFO/Fe3+) was ineffective, which suggests that the iron-chelating capacity of free desferrioxamine B is the antimalarial principle. All mice survived when they were given 0.3 mg desferrioxamine B/g every 12 hr for 14 days after infection. In addition, they were resistant to reinfection for at least 8 weeks. Eight months after desferrioxamine B treatment, all mice had lost their induced immunity and were as susceptible to malaria as controls. These results illustrate the dependence of the malarial parasite on ionic iron and suggests new methods for the therapy of parasitic diseases.