HKOs are impaired in metacyclogenesis and their ability to infect in vivo.

A. Number of WT and HKO metacyclics during in vitro life cycle represented by bar graph. Mean ± SE, n = 3, * P≤0.05. B: Bar graph showing percentages of macrophages infected with WT and HKO metacyclics at an MOI of 1:10. Mean ± SE, n = 3, * P≤0.05. C: Number of parasites present in infected macrophages when infection was carried out with equal number of WT and HKO metacyclics. Mean ± SE, n = 3, * P≤0.05. D: Photomicrographs of macrophage infected with metacyclics (arrows) isolated from WT and HKO parasite cultures. Scale, 10 µm. E: Bar graph shows spleen weights of hamsters infected for 8 weeks. Control: uninfected hamsters; WT: hamsters infected with WT parasites, HKO: hamsters infected with HKO parasites. Mean ± SE ,n = 3, * P≤0.05. F. Infected macrophage numbers represented as the number of infectious foci per field in splenic smears from hamsters infected with WT (WT) and HKO parasites (HKO). Data represents mean ± SE, n = 5; in which 10 different fields were analysed. * P≤0.05.