New strategy to combat malaria by targeting a weak point in the biology of the parasite that causes it

Ruth Pérez

Margarita Salas Center for Biological Research (CIB-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum and transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito of the genus Anopheles. Despite partial successes in malaria control, the disease remains common in tropical and subtropical countries. Every year, nearly 290 million people contract malaria and more than 600,000 die from the disease. The primary victims are pregnant women and children under the age of five. Additionally, the burden of the disease hampers the sustainable economic development of affected countries, especially in the developing world.

Despite significant efforts by researchers to develop a vaccine and drugs to treat the disease, there are currently no effective treatments in widespread use. One of the main obstacles to achieving this is the resistance the parasite eventually develops against drugs, even the most modern ones. It is therefore a priority to rapidly find new molecules that address alternative therapeutic targets.

In this regard, the present project will focus on using the parasite’s own biology against it. Previous studies have shown that the parasite has a complex life cycle that requires it to adapt and respond quickly to changing conditions and cellular stress. The proteins involved in regulating redox balance are essential for the parasite’s survival and, at the same time, are different from those used by the human host, providing a valuable therapeutic window of opportunity. With the aim of developing more effective and safer drugs for children and pregnant women, who are particularly vulnerable to the disease, the project will focus on discovering new drugs that selectively block the activity of proteins involved in redox balance, thereby causing the death of the parasite.

• Gonzalo Jiménez-Osés, Asociación Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias (CIC bioGUNE), Bizcaia, Spain

• Jude Marek Przyborski, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Germany

Redox Metabolism as an Achilles’ heel in malaria drug discovery

€999,400.00