An international team has discovered a protein that plays a key biological role in a parasite responsible for malaria. Deactivation of this protein reduces the in vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum, the protozoan responsible for the most virulent form of the disease, by more than 75%. The team, led by Professor Dave Richard of Laval University, recently published details of the discovery in the scientific journal mBio.
“This breakthrough could lead to the development of a treatment targeting a function of the parasite that no antimalarial drug has yet exploited,” said Richard, professor at Laval University’s Faculty of Medicine and researcher at the Center de recherche du CHU of Quebec-Laval University. .
Plasmodium falciparum is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. After infecting the host’s liver, it circulates in the blood, hiding inside red blood cells and thus warding off attacks by the immune system. The parasite’s main food source is hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen from red blood cells to the rest of the body. The parasite digests hemoglobin in structures called digestive vacuoles.
“The protein we discovered, PfPX1, is involved in the transport of hemoglobin to these digestive vacuoles,” Professor Richard said. “When we deactivate PfPX1, we deprive the parasite of its main source of amino acids. This has an impact on its growth and survival. »
In light of these findings, Richard sees a potential new way to fight malaria: “We could prevent the parasite protein PfPX1 from performing its functions. Since the protein is not present in humans, there would be less risk of disrupting important functions in the human body. »
Malaria continues to plague many parts of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa. In 2020, 241 million people contracted malaria and 627,000 died from it. The disease mainly affects children under five and pregnant women.
Although the World Health Organization last year recognized the first vaccine against malaria, Richard believes that it is essential to continue to explore new therapeutic avenues: “As we have seen with COVID-19 , new strains may continue to emerge and threaten the effectiveness of vaccines. , strains resistant to artemisinin, the main antiparasitic used against malaria, have already appeared in Southeast Asia. To maintain the effectiveness of treatments and reduce the risk of new drug-resistant strains, it is important to combine the therapeutic approaches, as we do with AIDS. Our discovery may well have a role to play in the fight against malaria. »
The authors of the mBio article come from Laval University, Purdue University, University of Alberta, Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Notre Dame University.
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Source of the story:
Materials provided by Laval University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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