Discovery brings MRC scientists step closer to finding malaria cure

Scientists at the Medical Research Council’s Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have identified a protein that if targeted prevents the malaria parasite's survival, a discovery that could pave the way to a cure for the disease.

Malaria is caused by a parasite that lives inside an infected mosquito and is transferred into the human blood stream through a bite. Once inside the body, parasites use a complex process to enter red blood cells. By identifying one of the key proteins needed for the parasite to survive in the red blood cells, the team have prevented the protein from working, thus killing the parasite. The discovery could be the first step in developing a new drug to treat malaria.

The scientists — funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust — used state-of–the-art methods to dissect the biochemical pathways involved in keeping the malaria parasite alive. This included an approach called chemical genetics where synthetic chemicals are used in combination with introducing genetic changes to the DNA of the parasite.

The researchers found that one protein kinase, (PfPKG), plays a central role in various pathways that allow the parasite to survive in the blood. Understanding the pathways the parasite uses means that future drugs could be precisely designed to kill the parasite but with limited toxicity, making them safe enough to be used by children and pregnant women.

Co-lead author of the study Professor Andrew Tobin from the MRC Toxicology Unit which is located at the University of Leicester, said: “This is a real breakthrough in our understanding of how malaria survives in the blood stream and invades red blood cells. We’ve revealed a process that allows this to happen and if it can be targeted by drugs we could see something that stops malaria in its tracks without causing toxic side-effects.”

According to the World Health Organization, malaria currently infects more than 200 million people worldwide and accounts for more than 500,000 deaths per year.