Malaria protein may lead to a cure

Malaria is responsible for almost half a million deaths a year, mainly in developing countries. The parasite undergoes a complex life cycle that requires two hosts – a mosquito and a mammal. New research from The University of Nottingham could reveal how the malaria parasite thrives within its insect and human hosts, leading to potential new treatments.
The research team led by Professor Rita Tewari and Dr Bill Wickstead in the University’s School of Life Sciences, has uncovered the role of cyclin, one of the most important protein molecules needed for cell division, that drives the growth of malaria within mosquitoes.
Until recently, very little was known about the cyclin, Plasmodium, and its interaction within the human host where the disease is manifested and in the vector mosquito which transmits the disease.
The research, published in the scientific journal PLoS Pathogens, is the first time that experts have been able to classify the number and type of cyclins present in Plasmodium and a set of related parasites called Apicomplexa.
“This first functional study of cyclin in the malaria parasite and its consequences in parasite development within pathogen-carrying mosquitoes will definitely further our understanding of parasite cell division, which I hope will lead to the elimination of this disease in the future,” Dr Magali Roques, lead author.
The paper, Plasmodium P-Type Cyclin CYC3 Modulates Endomitotic Growth during Oocyst Development in Mosquitoes is published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.
Read an in-depth analysis from the University of Nottingham.