Effects of iron deficiency on the hepatic development of Plasmodium yoelii

Iron deficiency through an iron-deficient diet and through an inactivation of hepatic xanthine dehydrogenase (XD) was shown to modulate Plasmodium yoelii sporozoite development in hepatocytes. When mice that are on iron-deficient diet were challenged with sporozoites, enhancement of hepatic stage development was observed, resulting in the earlier appearance of blood parasites. In contrast, inhibition of parasite hepatic development was noticed when iron deficiency was the result of hepatic XD inactivation. In vitro studies have shown that diet induced iron-depletion increases penetration of sporozoites into liver cells while inactivation of hepatic XD resulted in an inhibition of both sporozoite penetration and schizont maturation. Moreover, inhibition of heme synthesis (which requires intrahepatic iron) also led to an inhibition of parasite development.