Université de Fribourg

3D imaging of undissected optically cleared Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes and midguts infected with Plasmodium parasites

Niz, Mariana De ; Kehrer, Jessica ; Brancucci, Nicolas M. B. ; Moalli, Federica ; Reynaud, Emmanuel G. ; Stein, Jens V. ; Frischknecht, Friedrich

In: PLOS ONE, 2020, vol. 15, no. 9, p. e0238134

Malaria is a life-threatening disease, caused by Apicomplexan parasites of the Plasmodium genus. The Anopheles mosquito is necessary for the sexual replication of these parasites and for their transmission to vertebrate hosts, including humans. Imaging of the parasite within the insect vector has been attempted using multiple microscopy methods, most of which are hampered by the presence of...

Université de Fribourg

Toolbox for in vivo imaging of host–parasite interactions at multiple scales

Niz, Mariana De ; Spadin, Florentin ; Marti, Matthias ; Stein, Jens V. ; Frenz, Martin ; Frischknecht, Friedrich

In: Trends in Parasitology, 2019, vol. 35, no. 3, p. 193–212

Animal models have for long been pivotal for parasitology research. Over the last few years, techniques such as intravital, optoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging, optical projection tomography, and selective plane illumination microscopy developed promising potential for gaining insights into host–pathogen interactions by allowing different visualization forms in vivo and ex vivo....