Research and Advanced Education
IMM researchers found that a pre-existing malaria infection can prevent a second infection
Study published in Nature Medicine may have impact in the fight against the disease
A team of researchers led by Maria M. Mota, from Instituto de Medicina Molecular, have found that pre-existing malaria prevents secondary infection by another Plasmodium strain, the parasite responsible for malaria, by restricting iron availability in the liver of the host. This discovery was published in Nature Medicine and has important implications for the management and prevention of malaria, a condition which affects millions of individuals worldwide.
The study was developed at Instituto de Medicina Molecular in collaboration with researchers at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and Oxford University; and was funded by the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, European Science Foundation and Medical Research Council, UK.
In this current study, the researchers focused at how malaria parasites developed in both the liver and in red blood cells and analysed patterns of infection in mice, looking in particular at cases of ‘superinfection’, in which an individual already infected with malaria is later bitten by a second infected mosquito. An individual in a high risk area can be bitten by hundreds of malaria-infected mosquitoes per year, making the issue of superinfection highly relevant. The study reveals for the first time the crucial role of iron in the development of multiple malarial infections, which has strong implications for iron supplementation used to combat anaemia in malaria-endemic regions.
A team of researchers led by Maria M. Mota, from Instituto de Medicina Molecular, have found that pre-existing malaria prevents secondary infection by another Plasmodium strain, the parasite responsible for malaria, by restricting iron availability in the liver of the host. This discovery was published in Nature Medicine and has important implications for the management and prevention of malaria, a condition which affects millions of individuals worldwide.
The study was developed at Instituto de Medicina Molecular in collaboration with researchers at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and Oxford University; and was funded by the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, European Science Foundation and Medical Research Council, UK.
In this current study, the researchers focused at how malaria parasites developed in both the liver and in red blood cells and analysed patterns of infection in mice, looking in particular at cases of ‘superinfection’, in which an individual already infected with malaria is later bitten by a second infected mosquito. An individual in a high risk area can be bitten by hundreds of malaria-infected mosquitoes per year, making the issue of superinfection highly relevant. The study reveals for the first time the crucial role of iron in the development of multiple malarial infections, which has strong implications for iron supplementation used to combat anaemia in malaria-endemic regions.