A reevaluation of the status of cholesterol in erythrocytes infected by Plasmodium knowlesi and P. falciparum.

The cholesterol synthesis of rhesus monkey erythrocytes parasitized by Plasmodium knowlesi and human erythrocytes infected by P. falciparum, as measured by incorporation of [1-14C]acetate and 3H2O, was almost undetectable, concordant with very low levels of measurable 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl-CoA reductase activity. In addition, both types of infected cells exchanged cholesterol with the plasma at the same rate as uninfected cells. The data do not exclude the possibility of cholesterol transfer from uninfected to infected cells.