A New Paradigm in Malaria Research
Published: 16 January 2020
In a review article published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, the Institute's Professor Matthias Marti concludes that the discovery of parasite infection in the haematopoietic niche has opened a new and exciting research direction.
Plasmodium asexual growth and sexual development in the haematopoietic niche of the host
A review article authored by the Institute and Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology's Professor Matthias Marti, Dr Kannan Venugopal, and Dr Franziska Hentzschel has been published in Nature Reviews Microbiology.
Giving an overview, Prof Marti explained: "The article focuses on the recent discovery that malaria parasites accumulate in the haematopoietic niche of the bone marrow during infection.
"This niche produces the circulating blood cells including immune cells and erythrocytes. Bone marrow infection (and spleen infection in rodents) likely has implications for the development of immunity and other aspects of bone marrow function.
"Initial studies also suggest that this new phenotype may be targeted by drugs and vaccines to reduce parasite infection and block transmission. Finally, there are some interesting evolutionary aspects to be explored.
"Altogether, the discovery of parasite infection in the haematopoietic niche has established a new paradigm in malaria research and opened a new and exciting research direction."
Read the review article by Kannan Venugopal, Franziska Hentzschel, Gediminas Valkiūnas & Matthias Marti (2020) here ⬇️
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-019-0306-2
First published: 16 January 2020