Researchers made an important step
toward deeper understanding of how malaria blood stage parasites turn the
switch to become transmissible to other humans. This knowledge is fundamental
for future research aiming to interrupt malaria transmission.
Whether a parasite continues to multiply
or develops into a gametocyte is controlled by a molecular switch. A recent
publication in Cell demonstrated that this switch responds to a lipid molecule
present in human blood: lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). Under high LPC
concentrations, parasites multiply, consuming LPC to build new membranes. When
LPC concentrations drop, as they do during acute infections, parasites convert
into gametocytes to secure their transmission to the next human host.
Researchers at the Swiss Tropical and
Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) have now identified a parasite protein
(GDV1) that plays a crucial role in activating the gametocyte conversion
switch. The study in Science further shows that GDV1 is only produced in
parasites destined to develop into gametocytes. In multiplying parasites, an
inhibitory molecule prevents expression of GDV1.
See:
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle
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