Analysis of malaria parasite-infected blood by flow cytometry

The use of flow cytometry in the quantitative analysis of blood from mice infected with Plasmodium vinckei has been studied. Several fluorescent dyes responsive to cell membrane potential were screened and one dye, 3,3'-dimethyloxacarbocyanine (DiOC1(3) ), was chosen for further study. Mature red blood cells (mRBC), immature RBC (imRBC), and parasitized RBC (pRBC) could be recognized and counted in the flow cytometer. When infected blood was separated on a Percoll gradient and fractions analyzed by flow cytometry using DiOC1(3), distinct populations of pRBC were recognized, the frequency of which varied with density. These subpopulations could not be correlated with distinct morphologic stages but varied with the size or age of the growing parasite. Methods combining the use of DiOC1(3) with a DNA specific-dye, Hoechst 33342, are discussed as an approach to more complete analysis of the blood of malaria-infected animals.