Fig. 3.

Infection of NZW rabbit hepatocytes with P. berghei sporozoites. a Rodent Pb parasite development 24 and 48 hpi in ex vivo cultures of rabbit primary hepatocytes. b Representative immunofluorescence microscopy image of a Pb merosomes developing ex vivo within rabbit primary hepatocytes 60 hpi and presenting typical markers of late exoerythrocytic development. c qRT-PCR quantification of hepatic infection of rabbits following iv injection of increasing amounts of freshly isolated Pb sporozoites (1 × 10⁵, 5 × 10⁵, and 1 × 10⁶). d Representative immunofluorescence microscopy images of rodent Pb parasites developing in the livers of NZW rabbits at different hpi. e Parasitemia in the peripheral blood of rabbits (orange) or mice (grey) following iv injection of freshly isolated Pb sporozoites. Scale bars: 10 µm