Malaria inflammation by xanthine oxidase-produced reactive oxygen species.

Malaria is a highly inflammatory disease caused by Plasmodium infection of host erythrocytes. However, the parasite does not induce inflammatory cytokine responses in macrophages in vitro and the source of inflammation in patients remains unclear. Here, we identify oxidative stress, which is common in malaria, as an effective trigger of the inflammatory activation of macrophages.

A Method for Amplicon Deep Sequencing of Drug Resistance Genes in Plasmodium falciparum Clinical Isolates from India.

A major challenge to global malaria control and elimination is early detection and containment of emerging drug resistance. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods provide the resolution, scalability, and sensitivity required for high-throughput surveillance of molecular markers of drug resistance. We have developed an amplicon sequencing method on the Ion Torrent PGM platform for targeted resequencing of a panel of six Plasmodium falciparum genes implicated in resistance to first-line antimalarial therapy, including artemisinin combination therapy, chloroquine, and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine.