Plasmodium Falciparum - Plasmodium Life Cycle

Plasmodium Life Cycle

The life cycle of all Plasmodium species is complex. Infection in humans begins with the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Sporozoites released from the salivary glands of the mosquito enter the bloodstream during feeding, quickly invading liver cells (hepatocytes). Sporozoites are cleared from the circulation within 30 minutes. During the next 14 days in the case of P. falciparum, the liver-stage parasites differentiate and undergo asexual multiplication, resulting in tens of thousands of merozoites which burst from the hepatocyte. Individual merozoites invade red blood cells (erythrocytes) and undergo an additional round of multiplication, producing 12-16 merozoites within a schizont. The length of this erythrocytic stage of the parasite life cycle depends on the parasite species: irregular cycle for P. falciparum, 48 hours for P. vivax and P. ovale, and 72 hours for P. malariae. The clinical manifestations of malaria, fever and chills, are associated with the synchronous rupture of the infected erythrocytes. The released merozoites go on to invade additional erythrocytes. Not all of the merozoites divide into schizonts; some differentiate into sexual forms, male and female gametocytes. These gametocytes are taken up by a female Anopheles mosquito during a blood meal. Within the mosquito midgut, the male gametocyte undergoes a rapid nuclear division, producing eight flagellated microgametes which fertilize the female macrogamete. The resulting ookinete traverses the mosquito gut wall and encysts on the exterior of the gut wall as an oocyst. Soon, the oocyst ruptures, releasing hundreds of sporozoites into the mosquito body cavity, where they eventually migrate to the mosquito salivary glands.