Article
Microbiology
Anastasia K. Pickford, Lucas Michel-Todo, Florian Dupuy, Alfredo Mayor, Pedro L. Alonso, Catherine Lavazec, Alfred Cortes
Summary: Clonally variant genes (CVGs) are crucial for Plasmodium falciparum to adapt to the human host's changing blood environment, with major differences in their expression patterns compared to in vitro-cultured parasites. During the transmission stages, previous expression patterns for many CVG families are lost and new patterns are established.
Article
Microbiology
Lucas Michel-Todo, Cristina Bancells, Nuria Casas-Vila, Nuria Rovira-Graells, Carles Hernandez-Ferrer, Juan R. Gonzalez, Alfred Cortes
Summary: The study reveals the association between the transcriptional state of malaria parasite CVGs and the distribution of heterochromatin. It demonstrates that changes in heterochromatin can explain the expression switches of CVGs. Additionally, the research finds a relationship between heterochromatin levels and the transmission of the parasite to mosquitoes. This study is of great importance for understanding the fundamental mechanisms of malaria parasite adaptation to the host environment and the regulation of parasite gene expression.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Elvis Quansah, Faustina Pappoe, Jilong Shen, Miao Liu, Shijie Yang, Li Yu, Chao Zhang
Summary: Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by Plasmodium protozoa. Understanding the regulation of gametocytogenesis in Plasmodium is crucial for the development of new drug targets and transmission-blocking vaccines. The ApiAP2 gene family plays a key role in the transcriptional machinery of gametocytes.
CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Abdirahman Abdi, Fiona Achcar, Lauriane Sollelis, Joao Luiz Silva-Filho, Kioko Mwikali, Michelle Muthui, Shaban Mwangi, Hannah W. Kimingi, Benedict Orindi, Cheryl Andisi Kivisi, Manon Alkema, Amrita Chandrasekar, Peter C. Bull, Philip Bejon, Katarzyna Modrzynska, Teun Bousema, Matthias Marti
Summary: The malaria parasite life cycle involves asexual replication in human blood and differentiation into gametocytes for transmission to mosquitoes. Host factors influence the commitment to differentiate into gametocytes, but the exact mechanism is still unclear. In this study, we analyzed data from 828 children in Kenya over 18 years to understand the relationship between host immunity, parasite growth, and transmission investment. We found that reduced plasma lysophosphatidylcholine levels, which are associated with inflammatory responses, are correlated with increased transmission investment and reduced asexual replication.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Edwin G. Tse, Laksh Aithani, Mark Anderson, Jonathan Cardoso-Silva, Giovanni Cincilla, Gareth J. Conduit, Mykola Galushka, Davy Guan, Irene Hallyburton, Benedict W. J. Irwin, Kiaran Kirk, Adele M. Lehane, Julia C. R. Lindblom, Raymond Lui, Slade Matthews, James McCulloch, Alice Motion, Ho Leung Ng, Mario Oeren, Murray N. Robertson, Vito Spadavecchio, Vasileios A. Tatsis, Willem P. van Hoorn, Alexander D. Wade, Thomas M. Whitehead, Paul Willis, Matthew H. Todd
Summary: The research aims to develop compounds to kill the malaria parasite by targeting PfATP4. They organized a public competition, and the best models were used to predict and synthesize novel inhibitors with biological activity.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Lekkala Ravindar, Siti Aishah Hasbullah, K. P. Rakesh, Nurul Izzaty Hassan
Summary: Malaria is a deadly parasitic infection ranked as the fifth most lethal worldwide. Antimalarial medications are crucial for preventing and eradicating malaria. The 4-aminoquinoline moiety has diverse biological applications and has been favored in antimalarial drug discovery. This review focuses on its efficacy when hybridized with various heterocyclic scaffolds, aiding the development of more effective antimalarial agents.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Melissa D. Conrad, Victor Asua, Shreeya Garg, David Giesbrecht, Karamoko Niare, Sawyer Smith, Jane F. Namuganga, Thomas Katairo, Jennifer Legac, Rebecca M. Crudale, Patrick K. Tumwebaze, Samuel L. Nsobya, Roland A. Cooper, Moses R. Kamya, Grant Dorsey, Jeffrey A. Bailey, Philip J. Rosenthal
Summary: This study identified multifocal emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum with partial resistance to artemisinins in Uganda. The emergence and spread of resistance were predominantly observed in areas where effective malaria control had been discontinued or transmission was unstable.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Kwesi Z. Tandoh, Collins M. Moranga, Michael Wilson, Neils B. Quashie, Nancy O. Duah-Quashie
Summary: Plasmodium falciparum, the cause of malaria, is developing resistance to artemisinin, a drug used to treat malaria, which threatens the effectiveness of malaria control. The development of artemisinin resistance may involve the role of extracellular vesicles in increasing oxidative stress tolerance and reducing the trafficking of hemoglobin to the food vacuole.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Emily R. Ebel, Frans A. Kuypers, Carrie Lin, Dmitri A. Petrov, Elizabeth S. Egan
Summary: The study on 121 healthy donors of African ancestry found that various genes and phenotypes related to red blood cell variation were closely associated with the adaptability of Plasmodium falciparum within red blood cells, indicating globally widespread variations play a role in modulating parasite fitness.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Lekkala Ravindar, Siti Aishah Hasbullah, K. P. Rakesh, Nurul Izzaty Hassan
Summary: Malaria is a major public health risk and economic burden in disease-endemic countries. Drug resistance in malaria parasites is a significant problem in malaria control. Novel drug discovery is essential to combat this issue.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Brendan Fries, Carlos A. Guerra, Guillermo A. Garcia, Sean L. Wu, Jordan M. Smith, Jeremias Nzamio Mba Oyono, Olivier T. Donfack, Jose Osa Osa Nfumu, Simon Hay, David L. Smith, Andrew J. Dolgert
Summary: Different population layers performed differently in matching the gold standard distribution at different population densities. Choosing the appropriate population map has a significant impact on burden estimates in a malaria model.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Theresa Reiker, Monica Golumbeanu, Andrew Shattock, Lydia Burgert, Thomas A. Smith, Sarah Filippi, Ewan Cameron, Melissa A. Penny
Summary: Individual-based models are essential in the global fight against infectious diseases, but the complexity of the models can pose challenges for calibration. The authors propose using a Bayesian optimization framework to calibrate a complex malaria transmission simulator, resulting in improved fitting outcomes compared to previous calibrations.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Oluwaseun Bunmi Awosolu, Zary Shariman Yahaya, Meor Termizi Farah Haziqah
Summary: Malaria remains a serious public health problem in southwestern Nigeria, with higher prevalence and mean parasite density among males and children aged <= 5 years. Factors such as maternal education, household water source, and presence of stagnant water around home are significantly associated with malaria disease. Protective factors include ownership of mosquito bed net and distance of home to hospital. Adopting integrated malaria control measures and educating parents on prevention strategies are crucial.
INFECTION AND DRUG RESISTANCE
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Deepika Purohit, Sahil Kumar, Rohit Dutt, Tilak Raj Bhardwaj
Summary: Malaria is the most significant and malicious parasitic disease in humans, with cerebral malaria being the most fretful complication. Currently, there is no effective therapeutic agent available for the treatment of cerebral malaria, and new potential interventions are urgently needed.
MINI-REVIEWS IN MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Sophie Uyoga, Perpetual Wanjiku, Jesse C. Rop, Johnstone Makale, Alexander W. Macharia, Gideon M. Nyutu, Mohammed Shebe, Kennedy A. Awuondo, Neema Mturi, Charles J. Woodrow, Arjen M. Dondorp, Kathryn Maitland, Thomas N. Williams
Summary: The clinical severity of Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections is directly related to the total parasite load, with higher parasite counts found in uncomplicated cases. The concentration of PfHRP2 also increases with severity, except in cases of severe malaria with concomitant bacterial infections where it is significantly lower. A quantitative test for plasma concentrations of PfHRP2 may aid in identifying children at the greatest clinical risk and differentiating critically ill children with malaria as a secondary cause.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Anna Barcons-Simon, Carlos Cordon-Obras, Julien Guizetti, Jessica M. Bryant, Artur Scherf
Article
Cell Biology
Pratima Gurung, Ana Rita Gomes, Rafael M. Martins, Stefan A. Juranek, Patrizia Alberti, Diane-Ethna Mbang-Benet, Serge Urbach, Elodie Gazanion, Vincent Guitard, Katrin Paeschke, Jose-Juan Lopez-Rubio
Summary: This study provides the first snapshot of the G4-interactome in P. falciparum, identifying multiple potential G4-binding proteins and characterizing the role of PfGBP2 in regulating G4-related functions.
CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Christina Ekenberg, Joanne Reekie, Adrian G. Zucco, Daniel D. Murray, Shweta Sharma, Cameron R. Macpherson, Abdel Babiker, Virginia Kan, H. Clifford Lane, James D. Neaton, Jens D. Lundgren
Summary: The study revealed that certain HLA alleles may influence the risk of clinical events in HIV-positive individuals, irrespective of viral load and CD4(+) T-cell count.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Christophe Menichelli, Vincent Guitard, Rafael M. Martins, Sophie Lebre, Jose-Juan Lopez-Rubio, Charles-Henri Lecellier, Laurent Brehelin
Summary: Long regulatory elements play key roles in gene regulation, and a computational approach named DExTER has been developed to identify candidate LREs. The regulation by cLREs varies significantly across species and conditions. In P. falciparum, cLREs can predict gene expression accurately and are associated with transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation signals.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Camilla Luiza-Batista, Flore Nardella, Sabine Thiberge, Malika Serra-Hassoun, Marcelo U. Ferreira, Artur Scherf, Sylvie Garcia
Summary: The new Flow-FISH method combines RNA detection and cell staining techniques to accurately quantify different stages of malaria parasites, suitable for gene expression studies and analysis of liver-stage sporozoites.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Flore Nardella, Ludovic Halby, Irina Dobrescu, Johanna Viluma, Corentin Bon, Aurelie Claes, Veronique Cadet-Daniel, Ambre Tafit, Camille Roesch, Elie Hammam, Diane Erdmann, Melissa Mairet-Khedim, Roger Peronet, Salah Mecheri, Benoit Witkowski, Artur Scherf, Paola B. Arimondo
Summary: The newly developed derivatives combining pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor with DNA methyltransferase inhibitor show superior activity in treating malaria and potent inhibition against human HDAC6. These compounds are fully active against multidrug-resistant Plasmodium and offer a cost-effective alternative to current failing antimalarial therapy.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Clement Yuen, Xiaohong Gao, James Jia Ming Yong, Prem Prakash, Chalapathy Raja Shobana, Perera Adhikarige Taniya Kaushalya, Yuemei Luo, Yanru Bai, Chun Yang, Peter R. Preiser, Quan Liu
Summary: The chip based on SERS technology is developed for field diagnosis of malaria, requiring only a small amount of water and blood sample. It is cost-effective and easy to use, with high sensitivity and accuracy in detecting hemozoin concentrations in the blood of malaria patients.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Elie Hammam, Ameya Sinha, Sebastian Baumgarten, Flore Nardella, Jiaqi Liang, Samia Miled, Frederic Bonhomme, Diane Erdmann, Benoit Arcangioli, Paola B. Arimondo, Peter Dedon, Peter Preiser, Artur Scherf
Summary: This study identified a novel epitranscriptomic mechanism in malaria parasites, involving the cytosine methylation of a specific tRNA site, which regulates the translation of a subset of parasite proteins involved in various metabolic pathways.
Article
Cell Biology
Christopher Swale, Valeria Bellini, Matthew W. Bowler, Nardella Flore, Marie-Pierre Brenier-Pinchart, Dominique Cannella, Lucid Belmudes, Caroline Mas, Yohann Coute, Fabrice Laurent, Artur Scherf, Alexandre Bougdour, Mohamed-Ali Hakimi
Summary: The Apicomplexa, a phylum of single-celled protozoa, cause severe parasitic diseases in humans and animals. Current therapeutics are limited by their efficacy and resistance. In this study, altiratinib, originally developed for glioblastoma, is identified as a potential drug candidate with broad spectrum activity against apicomplexans. Altiratinib specifically targets the TgPRP4K of T. gondii and inhibits the development of intracellular parasites. The molecular basis of the inhibitory mechanism and species selectivity is further elucidated.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Camilla Luiza-Batista, Sabine Thiberge, Malika Serra-Hassoun, Flore Nardella, Aurelie Claes, Vanessa C. Nicolete, Pierre-Henri Commere, Liliana Mancio-Silva, Marcelo U. Ferreira, Artur Scherf, Sylvie Garcia
Summary: This study presents a new humanized mice model that supports human erythropoiesis and allows the multiplication and transmission of P. vivax parasites. It provides a unique tool for investigating the biology of intraerythrocytic P. vivax.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Hoi Lok Cheng, Sing Mei Lim, Huan Jia, Ming Wei Chen, Say Yong Ng, Xiaohong Gao, Jyoti Somani, Sharmila Sengupta, Dousabel M. Y. Tay, Patrina W. L. Chua, R. Abirami, Sharon Y. H. Ling, Megan E. McBee, Barnaby E. Young, Hadley D. Sikes, Peter R. Preiser
Summary: The study demonstrates significant heterogeneity in nAb responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants after vaccination, suggesting a more personalized vaccination approach may be more suitable.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Eliana Real, Flore Nardella, Artur Scherf, Liliana Mancio-Silva
Summary: A survival strategy commonly observed in protozoan parasites is the sequential expression of clonally variant-surface antigens to avoid elimination by the host's immune response. In malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum, the expression of these variant genes is not limited to intraerythrocytic developmental stages, but also plays a crucial role in transmission and preerythrocytic stages.
CURRENT OPINION IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Gretchen M. Diffendall, Anna Barcons-Simon, Sebastian Baumgarten, Florent Dingli, Damarys Loew, Artur Scherf
Summary: RUF6 ncRNA interacts with RNA Pol II to sustain var gene expression, and Pf-DDX5 helicase resolves G-quadruplex secondary structures in var genes to facilitate transcriptional activation and progression.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Catarina Rosa, Parul Singh, Patty Chen, Ameya Sinha, Aurelie Claes, Peter R. Preiser, Peter C. Dedon, Sebastian Baumgarten, Artur Scherf, Jessica M. Bryant
Summary: The complex life cycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is driven by specific transcriptional programs, but the mechanisms behind gene activation or silencing at specific times are unclear. In this study, researchers investigated the role of the cohesin subunit SMC3 in P. falciparum. They found that knockdown of SMC3 during the early stages of the parasite's life cycle resulted in the upregulation of certain genes involved in erythrocyte egress and invasion, which are normally expressed at later stages. ChIP-seq analyses revealed that SMC3 binding at the promoter regions of these genes correlated with gene repression and chromatin accessibility during the parasite life cycle.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Wensong Wang, Zesheng Zheng, Chuanshi Yang, Zhongyuan Fang, Shaomeng Wang, Clement Yuen, Kai Tang, Quan Liu, Peter Preiser, Yuanjin Zheng
Summary: In this study, the PA-SAW sensing and detection system is proposed to detect the ring-stage malaria parasite by generating PA signal from red blood cells and converting it into an electrical signal for analysis. The system showed excellent potential in the early diagnosis of malaria parasite at low concentration levels.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT
(2022)