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Asian News InternationalJul 15, 2019 05:57:49 IST
A new study has revealed how the immune systems of mosquitoes fight against malaria parasites, which could lay the groundwork for future research to combat malaria transmission.
The study published in the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed how the immune system of mosquitoes fought malaria parasites at several stages of development.
About 219 million cases of malaria, a disease transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito, have occurred worldwide in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most cases are concentrated in tropical and subtropical climates such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The disease resulted in 435,000 deaths in 2017, according to the CDC.
Mosquitoes are required to transmit malaria, acquiring malaria parasites by pricking an infected person, and then transmitting the disease a few weeks later after the parasite has finished developing in the mosquito. The new study focuses on how the immune system of mosquitoes reacts to the parasite.
Image of representation. Credit: Unsplash
"Mosquitoes are usually quite effective at eliminating the parasite, and we wanted to understand the mechanisms and pathways that make it possible," said Ryan Smith, the lead author of the study.
The researchers treated the mosquitoes with a chemical that impoverishes their immune cells, which are needed to defend against pathogens. Experiments have shown that malaria parasites survive at a higher rate in mosquitoes when immune cells are depleted. The research also shed light on how these immune cells have promoted different "waves" of the mosquito's immune response targeting different phases of the malaria parasite in the host mosquito.
Smith said the results improved the understanding of a complement-like pathway involved in the initial recognition and destruction of parasites, similar to that found in mammals.
The work also implies that phenoloxidases, an insect-specific immune response, elicit a secondary immune response to the later stages of the malaria parasite, he said.
Understanding these immune responses could help eliminate malaria parasites in the mosquito, thereby reducing malaria transmission. For example, Smith said scientists could use genetic approaches to make mosquitoes resistant to malaria parasites. The introduction of mosquitoes with enhanced immunity in endemic areas of malaria could significantly reduce cases of human malaria.
"More steps are needed to validate this type of approach, but we believe this study lays the groundwork for these future experiments," Smith said.
As we follow the scheduled launch of India's second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, on July 15, you'll find our entire collection of stories, an in-depth badysis, updates to live, videos and more on our dedicated area # Chandrayaan2TheMoon.
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