Measuring growth, resistance, and recovery after artemisinin treatment of Plasmodium falciparum in a single semi-high-throughput assay
The direct-from-blood qPCR-based methodology provides the throughput needed to quickly measure large numbers of parasites for multiple relevant phenotypes. Growth can reveal fitness defects and illuminate relationships between proliferation rates and drug response. Recovery serves as a complementary phenotype to resistance that quantifies the ability of sensitive parasites to tolerate drug exposure. All three phenotypes offer a comprehensive assessment of parasite-drug interaction each with potential independent genetic determinants of main effect and overlapping secondary effects. By adapting the method to include DBS, readouts can be easily extended to ex vivo surveillance applications.
Authors
- Lisa A. Checkley
- Tarrick Qahash (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2891-3090)
- Sudhir Kumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2847-393X)
- Zione Cassady
- Douglas A. Shoue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4991-6039)
- Mackenzie A. C. Sievert
- Ashley M. Vaughan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5815-756X)
- Puspendra P. Singh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2616-9309)
- Michael T. Ferdig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3516-9829)
- Katelyn M. Vendrely (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1158-4737)
- Jeanne Romero‐Severson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4112-7238)
- Xue Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7501-4445)
- Timothy J. C. Anderson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0191-0204)
- François Henry Nosten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7951-0745)
Institutions
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute (US)
- Infectious Disease Research Institute (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- Iowa State University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Mahidol University (TH)
- Indian Council of Medical Research (IN)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (TH)
- Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (TH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Malaria Journal
- Published
- 2025-08-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-025-05481-9
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Malaria Research and Control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.76