Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium knowlesi: Serum binding to sporozoites

Plasmodium berghei salivary gland and oocyst sporozoites were examined with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-lectins to determine if sporozoites had carbohydrate-containing molecules on their surfaces. None of the eight fluorescein isothiocyanate-lectins bound to the sporozoites. However, incubation of sporozoites in mouse serum permitted subsequent binding of concanavalin A and Ricinus communis agglutinin I. In general, serum binding occurred when sporozoites were incubated in serum from hosts susceptible to sporozoite infection. Sporozoites of the rodent parasite, P. berghei, tended to bind rodent but not primate serum, while sporozoites of the monkey parasite, Plasmodium knowlesi, tended to bind primate but not rodent serum. The serum component(s) that bound to sporozoites were concentrated considerably by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by concanavalin A—Sepharose affinity chromatography.