Transcriptomic responses in the host during mosquito-transmitted and blood passaged Plasmodium chabaudi infections.

Plasmoidium chabuadi AS infections initiated by mosquito transmitted infections give rise to an attenuated blood-stage infection when compared to serially blood passaged parasites. Furthermore, Plasmoidium chabuadi CB infections have an increased virulence as compared with Plasmoidium chabuadi AS. We compared the immune response in the spleens induced by these two types of parasites and two types of infection routes in order to determine what may cause this attenuation. Spleens were taken at several timepoints during the blood-stage infection and RNA-seq analysis was performed. 6 Time points - (Days post blood cycle infection 3,6,9,12,30, 60) 2 infection conditions (MT and SBP) and two parasite strains (P.chaubadi AS and P.chabaudi CB). Each group used age/sex matched C57BL/6 mice, with at least 3 replicates in infection groups. Controls/Naïve mouse with no infection were age/sex matched.