Figure 2.
P. berghei infection depletes BH4 and lowers the BH4/BH2 ratio in plasma, red blood cells, and brain tissue. Plasma, erythrocyte, and tissues BH4 and 7,8-BH2 were determined by HPLC on day 6 postinoculation. P. berghei ANKA-infected mice received a continuous intravenous infusion of saline (n = 9) or 2.4 g kg−1 day−1 citrulline + 15 mg kg−1 day−1 sepiapterin (n = 11) from day −1 to day 6 postinoculation. Tissue concentrations were normalized to soluble protein. Saline-infused uninfected mice (n = 12) served as controls. Data are pooled from three independent experiments. Box plots depict the median and IQR. Whiskers extend to the highest and lowest values within 1.5IQR of the 75th and 25th percentiles, and values outside this range were plotted as individual points (Tukey’s method). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001 by the Mann–Whitney test. ns (not significant): p > 0.05.