Upon P. yoelii infection, the Gal-3 knockout mice exhibited a significant reduction in parasitemia compared to wild-type (WT) mice; however, in the cases of P. berghei and P. chabaudi infections, the parasitemia levels observed in the knockout mice were similar to those in WT mice. This finding suggests that Gal-3 stimulates specifically P. yoelii replication or infectivity. Also, additional experiments with P. yoelii revealed that a more robust immune reaction against the parasite occurs in the absence of Gal-3. This evidence concerns the gene LGALS3 and parasitic infectious disease.