Characterisation of the merozoite thrombospondin related anonymous protein (MTRAP) of Plasmodium berghei as a transmission-blocking antigen.

Background: Malaria is an infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Plasmodium. Human-to-human transmission depends on a mosquito vector; thus, the interruption of parasite transmission from humans to mosquitoes is an important approach in the fight against malaria. The parasite stages infectious to mosquitoes are the gametocytes, sexual stages that are ingested by the vector during a blood meal and transform into male and female gametes in the midgut.

Primaquine and chloroquine nano-sized solid dispersion-loaded dissolving microarray patches for the improved treatment of malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax.

Malaria is a global parasitic infection that leads to substantial illness and death. The most commonly-used drugs for treatment of malaria vivax are primaquine and chloroquine, but they have limitations, such as poor adherence due to frequent oral administration and gastrointestinal side effects. To overcome these limitations, we have developed nano-sized solid dispersion-based dissolving microarray patches (MAPs) for the intradermal delivery of these drugs.

Novel Transmission-Blocking Antimalarials Identified by High-Throughput Screening of Plasmodium berghei Ookluc.

Safe and effective malaria transmission-blocking chemotherapeutics would allow a community-level approach to malaria control and eradication efforts by targeting the mosquito sexual stage of the parasite life cycle. However, only a single drug, primaquine, is currently approved for use in reducing transmission, and drug toxicity limits its widespread implementation. To address this limitation in antimalarial chemotherapeutics, we used a recently developed transgenic Plasmodium berghei line, Ookluc, to perform a series of high-throughput screens for compounds that inhibit parasite fertilization, the initial step of parasite development within the mosquito.

Screening the Pathogen Box for Molecules Active against Plasmodium Sexual Stages Using a New Nanoluciferase-Based Transgenic Line of P. berghei Identifies Transmission-Blocking Compounds.

Malaria remains an important parasitic disease with a large morbidity and mortality burden. transmission-blocking (TB) compounds are essential for achieving malaria elimination efforts. Recent efforts to develop high-throughput screening (HTS) methods to identify compounds that inhibit or kill gametocytes, the sexual stage infectious to mosquitoes, have yielded insight into new TB compounds.