Although severe malaria presents in different clinical forms – such as cerebral malaria or severe malarial anemia – a new study reveals that all severe cases have one thing in common: a shared inflammatory signature

Transcript

Whilst most cases of malaria are mild, some take a dangerous turn. In severe cases, the malaria parasite can overwhelm the body, disrupting the blood-brain barrier and leading to cerebral malaria, or destroying so many red blood cells that it triggers life-threatening anemia. Now, a new study has taken a closer look at this progression – from uncomplicated malaria to severe disease.

Researchers looked at three factors: Transcriptomics, the genes being expressed; proteomics, the proteins being produced; and metabolomics, the metabolites and small molecules present. Using a matched-pairs design, they compared blood samples of children with severe malaria versus children with uncomplicated disease.

The finding? Although different types of severe malaria can be distinguished by other factors, they all share a ‘common signalling pattern.’

Two proteins stood out: MMP8 and MMP9 – and those proteins are both involved, in different ways, in the breakdown of the extracellular matrix – the scaffolding between cells. The finding gives researchers new clues into how malaria becomes deadly, and may open the door to better-targeted treatments – or even a vaccine against severe malaria - in the future.

Source

A shared inflammatory signature across severe malaria syndromes manifested by transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic analyses [Nature Communications]

About The Podcast

The Johns Hopkins Malaria Minute podcast is produced by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute to highlight impactful malaria research and to share it with the global community.

Dr. Alexandra Probst discusses a breakthrough in malaria prevention: bed nets coated with anti-parasitic drugs that stop transmission by curing infected mosquitoes.

With Alexandra Probst, former graduate student at Harvard University.

About The Podcast

The Johns Hopkins Malaria Minute is produced by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute to highlight impactful malaria research and to share it with the global community.

How next-generation bed nets could stop malaria by killing the parasites inside mosquitoes, not just the mosquitoes themselves.

Transcript

Bed nets have long been a cornerstone of vector control. Coated with insecticide, they serve a dual purpose: preventing bites and killing mosquitoes. But what if those nets could do more – not only kill the mosquitoes, but for those they don’t kill because of increasing insecticide resistance, at least kill the parasites hidden inside them?

Researchers assembled a library of antiparasitic compounds active against the form of the parasite in the mosquito midgut. They identified 81 promising compounds, some of which were already in clinical development. Of those, 22 were found to be effective against these early stages of parasite development in the mosquito and, therefore, capable of preventing onward transmission.

One class of compound stood out: ELQs, or endochin-like quinolones. These could be absorbed through the mosquito’s legs in tests, therefore viable for use in a mosquito net. The researchers suggest that ELQs could offer a promising new strategy for malaria control, working alongside traditional methods to reduce malaria cases and deaths.

Source

In vivo screen of Plasmodium targets for mosquito-based malaria control (Nature)

About The Podcast

The Johns Hopkins Malaria Minute podcast is produced by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute to highlight impactful malaria research and to share it with the global community.