Plasmodium berghei: inhibition of the sporogonous cycle by alpha-difluoromethylornithine

Abstract

alpha-Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an enzyme inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, inhibits the sporogonous cycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei in the mosquito vector Anopheles stephensi. DFMO was administered to the mosquitoes dissolved either in the sugar solution at their disposal in the cages or through blood meals taken from treated mice. The mice subsequently bitten by mosquitoes treated with DFMO by both routes of administration did not contract malaria.