New way to stop falciparum malaria transmission

Australian scientists have successfully blocked the deadliest malaria parasite —- Plasmodium falciparum — in its transmission stage, paving the way for developing preventative therapies to stop the spread of the disease.

Malaria has seen a resurgence in the past year, according to WHO. Photo: Pan American Health Organization

Lead researcher Justin Boddey from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and University of Melbourne says, “We have built on our previous studies, where we identified in the P. falciparum parasite an enzyme called plasmepsin V, an enzyme essential for the parasite to grow inside red blood cells. We showed that if you inhibit the enzyme’s activity then you can kill the parasites as they are growing in red blood cells.”

The new findings show that plasmepsin V is also essential in a subset of parasites called gametocytes (sexual form of the malaria parasite) that transition to infect the mosquito.

“They [gametocytes] go via a blood meal into the mosquito’s stomach. They fertilise in the gut and develop into another parasite form that can then productively infect that mosquito. We have developed small molecule compounds that act as an ‘inhibitor’, and by inhibiting the plasmepsin V enzyme in gametocytes, we can block them from transmitting to mosquitoes”.

Malaria is spread to people through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquito vectors. When a mosquito bites a person, the parasites first infect the liver, where they live for about seven days.

“The liver is also a fantastic place for intervention because one can then prevent that person from getting malaria by stopping parasites from coming out of their liver. We are testing if we can develop drugs that block plasmepsin V not just in blood and gametocyte stages but also during liver infection as a prophylactic,” Boddey tells.

Classically, anti-malarial drugs tend to focus on one part of the parasite lifecycle i.e. when people’s blood is infected and they need treatment. New drug development for malaria is focused on all stages of the malaria parasite’s lifecycle — liver, blood and gametocyte.

“So far, our published studies show that inhibiting plasmepsin V blocks two of the three lifecycle stages — the blood phase (sickness) as well as the gametocyte stage (transmission) with a single drug, and we are currently seeing positive results against the liver stage,” says Boddey. “Such breadth of efficacy of an antimalarial therapy would help accelerate the elimination of malaria.” (SciDev.Net)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Neuromorphic Metallic Nanowire Network Shows Human Brain-Like Functions

An international joint research team led by NIMS succeeded in fabricating a neuromorphic network composed of numerous metallic nanowires.

Microbes are at work in our bodies, and researchers have figured out what they're up to

Algorithm deciphers human microbiome's workings.

Detecting solar flares in real time

New machine learning tool can improve space weather forecasts.

Researchers discover new autoinflammatory disease and uncover its biological cause

Over the last 20 years, three families have been unsuspectingly linked by an unknown illness. Researchers have now identified the cause of the illness, a new disease called CRIA syndrome.

Study analyzing cells' blueprints reveals new patterns in the global distribution and diversity of ocean microbes

A single drop of seawater can contain a wide representation of ocean microbes from around the world -- revealing new insights into the ecology, evolution and biotechnology potential of the global microbiome.

Scientists Create Superbug-Resistant Self-Cleaning Surface

Researchers have developed a self-cleaning plastic wrap that repels bacteria -- and could be used to prevent the transfer of antibiotic resistant superbugs, and other forms of dangerous bacteria.