Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have genetically modified a bacterium commonly found in the mosquito’s midgut and found that the parasite that causes malaria in people does not survive in mosquitoes carrying the modified bacterium. The bacterium, Pantoea agglomerans, was modified to secrete proteins toxic to the malaria parasite, but the toxins do not harm the mosquito … [Read more...]
Researchers Discover Proteins in Mosquitoes that Help Fight Malaria Infection
Researchers have discovered the function of a series proteins within the mosquito that transduce a signal that enables the mosquito to fight off infection from the parasite that causes malaria in humans. Together, these proteins are known as immune deficiency (Imd) pathway signal transducing factors, are analogous to an electrical circuit. As each factor is switched on or off it triggers or … [Read more...]
Mosquito Immune System Can Be Engineered to Block Malaria
Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the Anopheles mosquito’s innate immune system could be genetically engineered to block the transmission of the malaria-causing parasite to humans. In addition, they showed that the genetic modification had little impact on the mosquito’s fitness under laboratory conditions. “The immune system of the Anopheles mosquito is capable of killing a … [Read more...]
Contrasting Patterns of Malaria Drug Resistance Found Between Humans and Mosquitoes
A recent study has detected contrasting patterns of drug resistance in malaria-causing parasites taken from both humans and mosquitoes in rural Zambia. Parasites found in human blood samples showed a high prevalence for pyrimethamine-resistance, which was consistent with the class of drugs widely used to treat malaria in the region. However, parasites taken from mosquitoes themselves had very … [Read more...]
Interview with Peter Agre, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute Director
Peter Agre is director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, which celebrates its 10th birthday this year. Before turning his focus to malaria, Agre won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2003 for his discovery of aquaporins, water channels in cell membranes. Agre spends a third of his year in regions of the world where malaria is endemic, mostly in Zimbabwe and rural Zambia, but he has … [Read more...]