Fig. 4

Pulixin inhibited the FREP1–P. falciparum interaction and blocked malaria transmission. a ELISA results showed that pulixin inhibited the interaction between FREP1 and P. falciparum-infected cell lysate and that the inhibition was dose-dependent. P: The positive control using the heat-inactivated FREP1 that did not interact with parasites. b The midguts of pulixin-treated mosquitoes had fewer oocysts than those of the control (DMSO) mosquitoes. Red dots inside the midguts are oocysts. c Pulixin inhibited the transmission of P. falciparum to An. gambiae in a dose-dependent manner. This experiment was conducted twice independently, and the results were similar. Each dot represents the number of oocysts in an experimental mosquito. Red lines show the median number of oocysts. N: number of mosquitoes. Median: median number of oocysts. Infection (%): percentage of infected mosquitoes. d Pulixin did not inhibit the formation of ookinetes. The assay was conducted twice independently. Each repeat had three replicates in the experimental and control groups. The conversion rate was defined as \(\frac{number\;of\;ookinetes}{{number\;of\;gametocytes}} \times 100\). Black lines depict the means of conversion rates. Con: control groups with DMSO in culture; Exp: experimental groups with 40 μM of pulixin in culture