Fig. 5.

Basigin-dependent Plasmodium falciparum invasion of reticulocytes can be ablated and complemented through genetic manipulation of BEL-A cells. a Rings are completely absent in reticulocytes derived from BSG KO BEL-A cells but are observed in reticulocytes derived from WT BSG and BSGΔC rescue lines and from a CypB KO. Black scale bar shown at bottom right is 10 µm. b Bar graph illustrating quantification of invasion of reticulocytes derived from indicated lines. Data represent invasion efficiency normalized to invasion in unedited control BEL-A-derived reticulocytes and assessed through blinded manual counting of Giemsa-stained cytospins from three independent experiments (n = 3). Error bars represent standard deviation of the mean, and individual data points are represented as filled circles. A one sample t test showed no significant difference in invasion into control BEL-A cells compared with invasion into WT BSG rescue, BSGΔC rescue, and CypB KO lines. Assays in which heparin is used to inhibit invasion provide a negative control. Source data are provided as a Source Data file