Merocyanine 540-sensitized photoinactivation of human erythrocytes
parasitized by Plasmodium falciparum
OM Smith, SA Dolan, JA Dvorak, TE Wellems and F Sieber
Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the photosensitizing dye
merocyanine 540 (MC540) as a means for extracorporeal purging of Plasmodium
falciparum-infected erythrocytes from human blood. Parasitized red blood
cells bound more dye than nonparasitized cells, and exposure to MC540 and
light under conditions that are relatively well tolerated by normal
erythrocytes and normal pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells reduced the
concentration of parasitized cells by as much as 1,000-fold. Cells
parasitized by the chloroquine- sensitive HB3 clone and the
chloroquine-resistant Dd2 clone of P falciparum were equally susceptible to
MC540-sensitized photolysis. These data suggest the potential usefulness of
MC540 in the purging of P falciparum-infected blood.
Volume 80,
Issue 1,
pp. 21-24,
07/01/1992
Copyright © 1992 by The American Society of Hematology
