Fig. 6.

Plasmodium falciparum invasion efficiency is slightly decreased in HC-04 following HGF treatment. A–B, HC-04 cells were grown for 30 h in the absence (A) or presence (B) of HGF before the addition of P. falciparum NF54 sporozoites. After 24 h of incubation with the sporozoites in the continued presence or absence of HGF, inside-outside staining of the sporozoites revealed fewer sporozoites in HC-04 cells treated with HGF compared with those without HGF. A representative microscope field is shown for both treatments. Inset: A sporozoite inside a hepatocyte that is beginning to round-up to form an exoerythrocytic form. Red staining denotes a sporozoite inside an HC-04 cell; green denotes a sporozoite outside; yellow indicates an overlap. DAPI staining of the nuclei appears blue. C, Quantification of inside-outside staining of P. falciparum sporozoites that have invaded a HC-04 cell. Percent invasion efficiency is shown for experimental replicates that received HGF treatment, n = 5, and without HGF (naïve) treatment, n = 8. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean.