New US research aims to break the malaria cycle

Scientists led by a team from the State University of New York at Buffalo in the US have devised a simple way to boost the efficacy of malaria transmissionblocking vaccines (TBV).

According to Jonathan Lovell, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the university, the researchers discovered that the vaccine antigens could be mixed with nanoparticles containing small amounts of cobaltporphyrin and phospholipid.

The cobalt-porphyrin, which is similar in structure to vitamin B12, is responsible for binding the nanoparticle to the antigens.

The resulting structure is an immunological agent that enhances the effectiveness of vaccines.

When vaccinated with malaria TBVs, humans produce malariaattacking antibodies that are then transmitted to mosquitos when they bite them, he said.

If successful, it could help reduce the spread of the disease, which kills more than 400 000 people annually, mostly small children in sub-Saharan Africa.

The development of effective TBVs, combined with mosquito nets, insecticides, anti-parasitic drugs and other types of vaccines, could help break the malaria cycle, Lovell added.

While a TBV would not directly prevent an immunised person from becoming infected, the vaccine could reduce the odds of other people living in that community contracting malaria, he said. – Alan Harman

OXFORD UNIVERSITY ABOVE:New research to improve the efficacy of malaria transmissionblocking vaccines could greatly reduce the incidence of the disease across the world.