The reciprocal influence of the liver and blood stages of the malaria parasite’s life cycle

•The liver and blood stages of Plasmodium infection exert a marked influence on each other.•In high-transmission settings, concomitant liver and blood stage infections are the rule rather than the exception.•Blood-stage Plasmodium infection negatively influences the protective efficacy of pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines.•The liver stage of Plasmodium infection impacts the outcome of erythrocytic infection and pathology.