New Approach for High-Throughput Screening of Drug Activity onPlasmodiumLiver Stages

Abstract
Plasmodiumliver stages represent potential targets for antimalarial prophylactic drugs. Nevertheless, there is a lack of molecules active on these stages. We have now developed a new approach for the high-throughput screening of drug activity onPlasmodiumliver stages in vitro, based on an infrared fluorescence scanning system. This method allowed us to count automatically and rapidlyPlasmodium-infected hepatocytes, using different hepatic cells and differentPlasmodiumspecies, includingPlasmodium falciparum. This new technique is well adapted for high-throughput drug screening and should facilitate the identification of new antimalarial compounds active onPlasmodiumliver stages.