[RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS]
| RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS |
A more precise method for identifying vaccine targets against the malaria parasite could save millions of children from infection.
Malaria
TAKING THE WITCHCRAFT OUT OF VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
STUDYING THE BODY’S IMMUNE RESPONSE TO MALARIA INFECTION COULD HELP SCIENTISTS FIND LIFE-SAVING VACCINES
Three malaria proteins that trigger an immune response in infected individuals have been identified by A*STAR researchers1. These proteins could underpin a new vaccine against the world’s deadliest parasitic disease. Half a million people, mostly young chil-
dren, are killed by malaria annually. Despite almost a century of research and development, no commercial vaccine exists for malaria. Part of the problem is the complexity of
the parasite, says Laurent Rénia, who led the study at the A*STAR Singapore Immunology
www.astar-research.com
Network. Compared with viruses, which have a maximum of 50 genes, the malaria parasite has 5,000 genes and 14 chromosomes. It also changes shape, reinventing itself as it moves from humans or monkeys to mosquitoes and back to the mammalian host. “Everything that works for viruses, doesn’t work for malaria,” says Rénia. “We need to think differently.” To start with, researchers need to be less
haphazard in selecting potential vaccine targets. “Vaccine studies to date have been con- ducted like witchcraft, with no clear criteria for
deciding why one protein candidate is better than another,” says Rénia. “We are trying to put a bit of rationality into the process.” In 2009, Rénia and a team of researchers
in the Netherlands discovered that individuals exposed to a few bites from infected mos- quitoes, while taking the antimalarial drug chloroquine, developed long-lasting immunity. Rénia wanted to determine the specific parasitic proteins that trigger this immune response. These antigens, he reasoned, could offer a legitimate target for potential vaccines.
A*STAR RESEARCH 35
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