Researchers block malaria parasite

Approximately 220 million people are infected every year by the Plasmodium parasite, which causes malaria. Between 655,000 and 12 million do not survive. The research team led by Maria Mota at the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University of Lisbon (IMM) has discovered a way to annihilate the parasite even before the first symptoms appear. The results of the study were recently published in the journal PNAS.

When it enters the body through a mosquito bite, the Plasmodium parasite makes its way to the liver and settles in a liver cell (hepatocyte), where it is supplied with nutrients. From there, it multiplies and takes on a new form. This is the first stage of the infection, which is still asymptomatic. It then enters the bloodstream and starts attacking red blood cells. This is when the first symptoms appear, which are usually violent. In the blood, the parasite repeats the cycle, this time infecting red blood cells and reinforcing the symptoms of the disease.

By trying to understand the mechanism by which the parasite captures nutrients in the hepatocyte in the initial phase, which is crucial for the development of the infection, IMM researchers have discovered a new class of highly potent anti-malarial compounds - torines, known for their ability to block the progression of cancer. By testing the effect of these compounds on infected mice, they found that torins destroy the parasites in the blood stage, but also prevent the parasite from multiplying in the liver by blocking the formation of the vacuole where the parasite multiplies inside the hepatocyte. If the vacuole is not formed, the parasite can be eliminated by the host cell. The next step will be to develop torins that can be used in human clinical trials.