Fighting the malaria parasite in the laboratory

1999/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

In collaboration with other centers and universities of the Genome Research Institute, located in Rockville, in the North American state of Maryland, they have managed to break some of the genetic code of the parasite responsible for malaria. This achievement opens up new opportunities to design drugs and vaccines against this old killer disease.

So far they have been able to sequence a single chromosome of this parasite called Plasmodium, but researchers believe it is a very important achievement to open the way to medicines and vaccines. More than 200 genes have been identified and, according to researchers, most of them are fundamental to the tasks of the parasite. For example, some genes have been identified that control the production of superficial parasite proteins. These proteins are found in the outer layer of bacteria, viruses or parasites and the body's immune system uses them to identify these beings as invaders, but sometimes the microbe can use the skin proteins to disguise, transform. In this case, researchers have found a group of genes that control a large family of skin proteins and consider these to help the parasite escape the immune system's response. Therefore, it is believed that a better knowledge of these genes and the proteins that depend on them will help develop new strategies to control malaria.

Plasmodium falciparium is one of the four parasites responsible for malaria. These parasites are carried by mosquitoes after they grip an infected animal or person and upon reaching another they leave the parasite. The parasite is unicellular and, after the introduction of the bodies, reaches the liver and reproduces, spreading later through the blood. Malaria produces symptoms similar to fever and flu, but in pregnant women and children fever is very high and can be fatal. The consequences of this disease are terrible, 500 million people infected a year and about 3,000 children a day. There is no effective vaccine against it, and some varieties have also become drug-resistant. This latest discovery will advance the fight against malaria.