DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH VOLUME TISSUE SCHIZONTICIDAL DRUG SCREEN BASED UPON MORTALITY OF MICE INOCULATED WITH SPOROZOITES OF PLASMODIUM-BERGHEI

A biological test system has been developed to assess the prophylactic activity of compounds against sporozoite-induced Plasmodium berghei malaria in mice. The procedure was designed to serve as the foundation of an effort to develop tissue schizonticidal drugs in a manner parallel to that of a previous system employed in the U.S Army Antimalarial Drug Development Program to screen compounds for blood schizonticidal activity. In test with 35 known antimalarial compounds, the new screen was found to be in agreement 93% and 80%, respectively, when assessed compound activity was compared with results obtained in a definitive mouse causal prophylactic test and a rhesus monkey radical curative system.