Persistence and activation of malaria hypnozoites in long-term primary hepatocyte cultures

Relapses in malaria are caused by hypnozoites, the latent hepatic stage formed by species such as Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale. Drug discovery programs have been severely hampered by a lack of in vitro cultivation methods for malarial hypnozoites. Only one drug, primaquine, is currently available, but its use is limited in people with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. Here, Laurent Dembele and colleagues offer a system that can be used to monitor the growth and development of Plasmodium cynomologi liver-stage forms, a model for P. vivax, for up to 40 d.