FIG. 4.

Phagocytosis of early- and late-stage gametocytes by monocytes and Mφs. Cultures were prepared so that at least 90% of all gametocytes were at stage I or IIA (early stages) or so that at least 90% of all gametocytes were at stages IIB to IV (late stages). After incubation with 10 μg of anti-CD36 antibody FA6 per ml, monocytes and Mφs were incubated with early- or late-stage gametocyte cultures for 2 h. Blocking CD36 on monocytes and Mφs with FA6 reduced the phagocytosis of late-stage GEs by 21.2% ± 10.1% (mean ± standard deviation) compared to the phagocytosis in the controls, which is significantly less (P < 0.02; n = 4) than the 49.0% ± 4.4% reduction in phagocytosis recorded with early-stage GEs. PI, phagocytic index.