Scientists at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have developed a protein which completely cures mice of malaria and protects them against re-infection. The breakthrough could lead to a new and more effective way of treating the deadly disease in future.
The findings have been published today in the prestigious journal Immunity.
Malaria is caused by parasites that are spread to humans by the Anopheles mosquito. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the disease killed an estimated 438,000 people in 2015. Most deaths are in young children and unborn babies. The WHO estimates that nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of the disease.
Malaria typically causes flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, muscle and joint pain, headache and nausea. It can lead to a lethal brain infection and coma.
The head of the Molecular Immunology laboratory at QIMR Berghofer, Dr Michelle Wykes, and her team discovered that a protein on the surface of a particular immune cell plays a crucial role in fighting malaria infection.
“Within the immune system, there are dendritic cells, which are the generals of the immune army, and there are T cells, which are the soldiers. The dendritic cells tell the T cells when to attack an infection and when to put down their weapons,” Dr Wykes said.
“The dendritic cells have proteins on their surface, which they use to send these orders to the T cells.
“It’s long been known that the job of one of these proteins is to tell the T cells when to switch off and stop fighting. However, contrary to what was previously understood, we found that another protein – called PD-L2 – can override these instructions by telling the T cells to switch on and keep fighting.
“We found that when humans and mice are infected with severe malaria, levels of PD-L2 decrease and so the T cells aren’t being told to keep fighting the parasites.
“We don’t know how malaria manages to block the production of PD-L2. But once we knew how important this protein was for fighting the disease, we developed a synthetic version of it in the laboratory.”
The researchers gave three doses of the protein to mice that had been infected with a lethal dose of malaria.
“All of these mice were cured of the malaria,” Dr Wykes said.
“About five months later, we reinfected the same mice with malaria parasites, but this time we didn’t give them any more of the synthetic protein. All of the mice were completely protected and didn’t become infected.”
Dr Wykes said the findings could form the basis for new ways to treat malaria in future.
“There are drugs available that treat malaria, but emerging drug-resistance is becoming an increasing problem, especially in parts of South-East Asia. Vaccines that are being trialled generally only protect against some species of malaria parasite, and they don’t protect people in the long-term. This means that we urgently need new treatments,” she said.
“Importantly, if this approach is successful, it should treat all species of malaria parasite.
“This would be a completely new way of treating malaria by stimulating a person’s own immune system to destroy the parasites.
“This branch of science – known as immunotherapy – is already showing very positive results for treating some cancers, and we hope that it will be just as successful for treating malaria.”
The research involved collaborators from the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience and School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences; The Queensland University of Technology; Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research; and, Harvard Medical School in the United States.
Learn more: MALARIA BREAKTHROUGH OFFERS HOPE FOR CURE
The Latest on: : Malaria cure
[google_news title=”” keyword=”malaria cure” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on:Mmalaria cure
- Tripura: Health department to launch door-to-door malaria surveillance in remote areason May 17, 2024 at 6:33 pm
The health department of Tripura is gearing up to launch door-to-door surveillance in the remote areas across the state to prevent cases of malaria according t ...
- Malaria cases dip, hosp strives to find patients for drug trialon May 17, 2024 at 4:38 pm
According to a KMC health department official, the treatment of patients once diagnosed with malaria (Vivax) takes a backseat as several patients refuse to take the prescribed doses of primaquine for ...
- The harrowing tale of Patriots player Calvin Anderson’s near-fatal bout with malariaon May 17, 2024 at 12:47 pm
Anderson’s body temperature spiked wildly in the early-morning hours of July 22. Sherée used Instacart to track down a thermometer. She stuck it in Calvin’s mouth, waking him up. After a minute, the ...
- ‘Malaria Elimination Initiative’ launched in Region Oneon May 17, 2024 at 2:15 am
MARKING a major advancement in the fight against malaria in the country by enhancing the health and well-being of residents, the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Health, launched the ...
- How Can We Prevent Malaria? A Review By Doctorson May 16, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Expert opinion from Daniel A. Foster DO, MPH · 16 years of experience · USA To reduce your risks of contracting malaria, you should do the following: Apply DEET (diethyltoluamide) insect repellent to ...
- Research identifies mechanism behind drug resistance in malaria parasiteon May 16, 2024 at 8:15 am
Collaborating researchers have discovered a link between malaria parasites' ability to develop resistance to antimalarial drugs—specifically artemisinin (ART)—through a cellular process called ...
- Over 500 get free malaria treatment, ITN in Deltaon May 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
No fewer than 500 persons in Warri and it’s environs in Delta State have benefitted from free malaria treatment and mosquito Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN). Besides, there was a road walk by health ...
- Chinese medical team helps Comoros conquer malariaon May 14, 2024 at 5:33 am
Comoros an island country off the east coast of Africa is making strides towards eliminating malaria with the support of a Chinese medical teamDesp ...
- Malaria still poses health riskson May 13, 2024 at 10:17 pm
Malaria is treated with prescription drugs to kill the parasite. The types of drugs and the length of treatment will depend on the type of malaria parasite you have, the severity of your symptoms ...
- Standby Emergency Treatment of Malaria in Travelerson May 12, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The concept of 'standby emergency treatment' (SBET) describes the strategy where travelers carry an emergency malaria treatment for self-administration when no medical attention is available or ...
via Bing News