Figure 1.

PbYOP1 deficiency attenuates the virulence of parasites in inducing ECM. (A) Survival curve of C57BL/6 mice infected with WT (1×10⁴, n = 22) or Pbyop1Δ parasites (1×10⁴, n = 21; 1×10⁶, n = 20). Data are combined from three independent experiments. ****P < 0.0001 as determined by log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test. (B) 7 days post-infection, 1×10⁶ Pbyop1Δ-infected mice (n = 10) developed peripheral blood parasitemia similar to mice infected with 1×10⁴ WT parasites (n = 10). (C) Real-time PCR analysis of P. berghei 18S rRNA expression in the brain. Mouse β-actin was used as the internal control (n = 5/group). Data are presented as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05; ns, not significant as determined by Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons test.