Australia: A breakthrough discovery brings hope to cure malaria

Scientists from the Medical Research Institute QIMR Berghofer (Australia) have successfully developed a protein that can completely cure malaria in mice as well as protect them from infection.

This breakthrough detection could lead to a new and more effective treatment for this deadly disease in the future.

The results of the study by Australian scientists were published this morning (August 17) on prestigious magazine Immunity.

Parasitic malaria, and transmission to humans through an intermediary is anopheles mosquito . According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 438,000 people died in 2015 due to the disease. Most deaths are unborn babies and babies. WHO estimates that nearly half of the world's population is at risk of malaria.

Malaria often causes flu- like symptoms, including fever, chills, muscle pain and joint pain, headache, nausea. The disease can lead to brain infections that cause death and coma.

Malaria often causes flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, muscle pain and joint pain .

Head of Molecular Immunology Laboratory of QIMR Institute Berghofer, Dr. Michelle Wykes and her team have discovered a protein on the surface of a specific immune cell that plays a very important role in the war. anti-malaria.

"In the immune system, there are dendritic cells, which act as commanders of the immune army, and T cells , soldiers of the army. Dendritic cells will tell T cells. when to attack infections and when to lower weapons " , Dr Wykes said.

"On the surface of dendritic cells there are proteins that they use to transmit commands to T cells".

"Scientists have long known that one of these proteins is responsible for informing T cells when to stop and stop attacking. However, contrary to what we previously knew, they I discovered that another protein, called PD-L2 , could invalidate these commands by ordering T cells to continue to function and attack. "

"We found that when humans and mice were severely infected with malaria, the level of PD-L2 decreased and so T cells were no longer directed to continue to attack the parasite.

"We do not know why malaria parasites can block PD-L2 production. But once we know the importance of this protein in the fight against malaria, we have developed a version. Its synthesis in the laboratory ".

Researchers injected 3 doses of this protein for mice infected with deadly malaria parasites.

"All of these mice have been cured of malaria," Dr Wykes said.

"About 5 months later, we gave these mice a chance to re-infect the malaria parasite, but this time we did not inject any more protein for them. All of these mice were immune and not infected. sick".

Dr. Wykes said the findings could become the basis for new ways to treat malaria in the future.

"There are drugs that can treat malaria, but increasing resistance is becoming a big problem, especially in Southeast Asia. Vaccines are being tested in general. Only immune to certain types of malaria parasites, and not able to protect us in the long term, this means we need new treatments, " Dr Wykes said.

"It is important, if this treatment is successful, it will be applied to kill all types of malaria parasites."

"This will be an entirely new treatment for malaria by stimulating the patient's own immune system to kill parasites."

"This branch of scientific research called immunotherapy is showing very positive results in the treatment of some cancers, and we hope to achieve similar success in treating malaria. ".

Dr. Michelle Wykes spoke at the meeting of the international press.

At the meeting of the international journalists visiting the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's scientific institutions on the afternoon of August 16, just a few hours before announcing this important discovery, Dr. Michelle Wykes has a wallet. von interesting in his presentation about "losing a champion is losing battle", referring to the dendritic cells disabled above.

She showed the images and introduced the charts, showing that after injecting the above proteins, dendritic cells became active and protected malaria-infected mice.

Dr. Wykes was very excited about the new success, and expressed his belief that this finding would contribute to the elimination of malaria in the world.

The study involved scientists from the Institute of Molecular Biology and the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Queensland; Queensland University of Technology; Singapore Institute of Science, Technology and Research; and Harvard Medical School of the United States.

The study was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.