Transcriptome profiling of intrahepatocytic Plasmodium and their host hepatocytes based on the infection phase and the zonation of the liver

Intrahepatocytic development is a key stage in human <i>Plasmodium</i> infection, in which sporozoites replicate and transform into merozoites. Due to technological limitations, however, previous gene expression studies on malaria parasite liver infection were mostly conducted <i>in vitro</i>. In order to bridge these gaps, our current study compared the gene expression of <i>in vitro</i>-infected parasites at different time points with that of <i>in vivo</i>-infected parasites and revealed distinct patterns between parasite subpopulations <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. A joint investigation of the <i>Plasmodium</i> transcriptome and their host transcriptome was carried out to confer a comprehensive analysis of gene expression in the liver stage of <i>Plasmodium</i> infection <i>in vivo</i>, which is similar to the disease setting, and therefore deepen our understanding of parasite and host transcriptional dynamics during intrahepatocytic infection.