Last Updated: 29/01/2025
Survival system of Plasmodium parasite in hibernating hosts
Objectives
*Original title and text were machine translated from Japanese.
This research project aims to obtain new scientific knowledge about host-pathogen interactions by analyzing the behavior of parasitic protozoa in hibernating Syrian hamsters at the tissue and molecular levels, using the malaria parasite as a model.
Hypothermia is a treatment that protects the brain and inhibits the progression of brain damage by artificially maintaining the patient’s body temperature low. As a preclinical study of hypothermia for malaria, the behavior of malaria parasites was examined in infected individuals exposed to low temperatures. When Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain was cultured at 4°C and 33°C, the increase in the rate of erythrocytes infected with the parasite was suppressed compared to 37°C, and it was found that this phenomenon was temperature-dependent. In a low-temperature culture system at 33°C, the addition of a low dose of an antimalarial drug promoted the malaria parasite killing effect. When the limiting temperature for malaria parasite proliferation was examined, it was found to be around 27°C. In addition, it was suggested that certain stages of the malaria parasite may be highly sensitive to low-temperature conditions. These results suggest the effectiveness of hypothermia as a new malaria treatment method.
Jun 2022 — Mar 2024
$46,703
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