scholarly journals Faculty Opinions recommendation of The machinery underlying malaria parasite virulence is conserved between rodent and human malaria parasites.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Human Malaria

scholarly journals A cornucopia of research resources for the fourth rodent malaria parasite species

BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane M. Carlton
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
First Century ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Rodent Malaria Parasite ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Rodent Malaria ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Plasmodium Vinckei ◽  
Research Resources

AbstractThe study of human malaria caused by species of Plasmodium has undoubtedly been enriched by the use of model systems, such as the rodent malaria parasites originally isolated from African thicket rats. A significant gap in the arsenal of resources of the species that make up the rodent malaria parasites has been the lack of any such tools for the fourth of the species, Plasmodium vinckei. This has recently been rectified by Abhinay Ramaprasad and colleagues, whose pivotal paper published in BMC Biology describes a cornucopia of new P. vinckei ‘omics datasets, mosquito transmission experiments, transfection protocols, and virulence phenotypes, to propel this species firmly into the twenty-first century.

scholarly journals Incidence of Malaria in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, Based on Nested PCR

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan Fen Joveen-Neoh ◽  
Ka Lung Chong ◽  
Clemente Michael Vui Ling Wong ◽  
Tiek Ying Lau
Keyword(s):  
Ribosomal Rna ◽  
Nested Pcr ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Molecular Detection ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Blood Film ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Blood Spot ◽  
Malaysian Borneo

Introduction. Malaria is currently one of the most prevalent parasite-transmitted diseases caused by parasites of the genusPlasmodium. Misidentification of human malaria parasites especiallyP. knowlesibased on microscopic examination is very common. The objectives of this paper were to accurately identify the incidence of human malaria parasites in the interior division of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, based on small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssrRNA) and to determine the misidentification rate in human malaria parasites.Methods. Nested PCR was used to detect the presence of human malaria parasites. A total of 243 blood spot samples from patients who had requested for blood film for malaria parasite (BFMP) analyses were used in this study.Results. Nested PCR findings showed that there was noP. malariaeinfection while the highest prevalent malaria parasite wasP. knowlesi, followed byP. vivax,P. falciparum, and mixed infection. Only 69.5% of the 243 samples giving consistent nested PCR and microscopic results.Conclusion. The preliminary findings from molecular detection of malaria showed thatP. knowlesiwas the most prevalentPlasmodiumspecies in the interior division of Sabah. The findings from this paper may provide a clearer picture on the actual transmission of differentPlasmodiumspecies in this region.

Generation of Transgenic Rodent Malaria Parasites Expressing Human Malaria Parasite Proteins

2015 ◽  
pp. 257-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Salman ◽  
Catherin Marin Mogollon ◽  
Jing-wen Lin ◽  
Fiona J. A. van Pul ◽  
Chris J. Janse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Human Malaria Parasite ◽  
Rodent Malaria ◽  
Human Malaria

Non-human primate malaria parasites: out of the forest and into the laboratory

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
AXEL MARTINELLI ◽  
RICHARD CULLETON
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Human Primate

SUMMARYThe study of malaria in the laboratory relies on either thein vitroculture of human parasites, or the use of non-human malaria parasites in laboratory animals. In this review, we address the use of non-human primate malaria parasite species (NHPMPs) in laboratory research. We describe the features of the most commonly used NHPMPs, review their contribution to our understanding of malaria to date, and discuss their potential contribution to future studies.

scholarly journals Replication of Plasmodium in reticulocytes can occur without hemozoin formation, resulting in chloroquine resistance

2015 ◽  
Vol 212 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing-wen Lin ◽  
Roberta Spaccapelo ◽  
Evelin Schwarzer ◽  
Mohammed Sajid ◽  
Takeshi Annoura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Drug Development ◽  
Antimalarial Drug ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Chloroquine Resistance ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Complete Development

Most studies on malaria-parasite digestion of hemoglobin (Hb) have been performed using P. falciparum maintained in mature erythrocytes, in vitro. In this study, we examine Plasmodium Hb degradation in vivo in mice, using the parasite P. berghei, and show that it is possible to create mutant parasites lacking enzymes involved in the initial steps of Hb proteolysis. These mutants only complete development in reticulocytes and mature into both schizonts and gametocytes. Hb degradation is severely impaired and large amounts of undigested Hb remains in the reticulocyte cytoplasm and in vesicles in the parasite. The mutants produce little or no hemozoin (Hz), the detoxification by-product of Hb degradation. Further, they are resistant to chloroquine, an antimalarial drug that interferes with Hz formation, but their sensitivity to artesunate, also thought to be dependent on Hb degradation, is retained. Survival in reticulocytes with reduced or absent Hb digestion may imply a novel mechanism of drug resistance. These findings have implications for drug development against human-malaria parasites, such as P. vivax and P. ovale, which develop inside reticulocytes.

scholarly journals A lipocalin mediates unidirectional haem biomineralization in malaria parasites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim M. Matz ◽  
Benjamin Drepper ◽  
Thorsten B. Blum ◽  
Eric van Genderen ◽  
Alana Burrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Parasite Clearance ◽  
Antimalarial Drugs ◽  
Blood Stage ◽  
Oxygen Binding ◽  
Prosthetic Group ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Stage Development

ABSTRACTDuring blood stage development, malaria parasites are challenged with the detoxification of enormous amounts of haem released during the proteolytic catabolism of erythrocytic haemoglobin. They tackle this problem by sequestering haem into bioinert crystals known as haemozoin. The mechanisms underlying this biomineralization process remain enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that both rodent and human malaria parasite species secrete and internalize a lipocalin-like protein, PV5, to control haem crystallization. Transcriptional deregulation of PV5 in the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei results in inordinate elongation of haemozoin crystals, while conditional PV5 inactivation in the human malaria agent Plasmodium falciparum causes excessive multi-directional crystal branching. Although haemoglobin processing remains unaffected, PV5-deficient parasites generate less haemozoin. Electron diffraction analysis indicates that despite the distinct changes in crystal morphology neither the crystalline order nor unit cell of haemozoin are affected by impaired PV5 function. Deregulation of PV5 expression renders P. berghei hypersensitive to the antimalarial drugs artesunate, chloroquine, and atovaquone, resulting in accelerated parasite clearance following drug treatment in vivo. Together, our findings demonstrate the Plasmodium-tailored role of a lipocalin family member in haemozoin formation and underscore the haem biomineralization pathway as an attractive target for therapeutic exploitation.SIGNIFICANCEDuring blood stage development, the malaria parasite replicates inside erythrocytes of the vertebrate host, where it engulfs and digests most of the available haemoglobin. This results in release of the oxygen-binding prosthetic group haem, which is highly toxic in its unbound form. The parasite crystallizes the haem into an insoluble pigment called haemozoin, a process that is vital for parasite survival and which is exploited in antimalarial therapy. We demonstrate that the parasite uses a protein called PV5 in haemozoin formation and that interfering with PV5 expression can increase the parasite’s sensitivity to antimalarial drugs during blood infection. An improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying haem sequestration will provide valuable insights for future drug development efforts.

scholarly journals The machinery underlying malaria parasite virulence is conserved between rodent and human malaria parasites

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana De Niz ◽  
Ann-Katrin Ullrich ◽  
Arlett Heiber ◽  
Alexandra Blancke Soares ◽  
Christian Pick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Human Malaria

scholarly journals PhenoPlasm: a database of disruption phenotypes for malaria parasite genes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo Sanderson ◽  
Julian C. Rayner
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Reverse Genetic ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Simple Interface

AbstractTwo decades from the first Plasmodium transfection, attempts have been made to disrupt more than 900 genes in malaria parasites, across five Plasmodium species. While results from the rodent malarias have been curated and systematised, phenotypic data for species of human malaria parasites has existed only scattered across a large literature. To facilitate systematic views of known experimental-genetic data across Plasmodium species, we have built PhenoPlasm (http://www.phenoplasm.org), a database of phenotypes for Plasmodium parasites. The site provides a simple interface to link citation-backed Plasmodium reverse-genetic phenotypes to gene IDs. The database has been populated with phenotypic data on 330 P. falciparum genes, curated from 155 individual publications, as well as existing curated data from RMgmDB. These data are presented using 1: 1 ortholog mapping to allow a researcher interested in a gene in one species to see results across Plasmodium. The collaborative nature of the database enables any researcher to add new phenotypes as they are discovered.

Plasmodium knowlesi and human malaria parasites in Khan Phu, Vietnam: Gametocyte production in humans and frequent co-infection of mosquitoes

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. MAENO ◽  
R. CULLETON ◽  
N. T. QUANG ◽  
S. KAWAI ◽  
R. P. MARCHAND ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Glands ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Plasmodium Knowlesi ◽  
Plasmodium Malariae ◽  
Transmission Dynamics ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Macaque Monkeys ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Human Infections ◽  
Specific Mrna

SUMMARYFour species of malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium knowlesi infect humans living in the Khanh Phu commune, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. The latter species also infects wild macaque monkeys in this region. In order to understand the transmission dynamics of the three species, we attempted to detect gametocytes of the three species in the blood of infected individuals, and sporozoites in the salivary glands of mosquitoes from the same region. For the detection of gametocyte-specific mRNA, we targeted region 3 of pfg377, pvs25, pmg and pks25 as indicators of the presence of P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. knowlesi gametocytes, respectively. Gametocyte-specific mRNA was present in 37, 61, 0 and 47% of people infected with P. falciparum (n = 95), P. vivax (n = 69), P. malariae (n = 6) or P. knowlesi (n = 32), respectively. We found that 70% of mosquitoes that had P. knowlesi in their salivary glands also carried human malaria parasites, suggesting that mosquitoes are infected with P. knowlesi from human infections.

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