Circadian control of Plasmodium parasite infection in a mouse model of cerebral malaria

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite. This disease affects approximately 200 million people worldwide. The immune system plays an important role in the severity of this disease. Indeed, immune cells such as macrophages are the main responsible for the cerebral complications present in the disease. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the immune response against another parasitic disease (leishmaniasis) varies over 24 hours and is controlled by circadian clocks within immune cells. Given this ability of circadian clocks to control the functioning of immune cells against parasites, this study seeks to determine whether this circadian regulation is also present in a context of Plasmodium infection and to what extent it could impact the severity of disease. To study these molecular mechanisms, immune cells are infected with the Plasmodium parasite. This approach allows directly examination of the relationship between the circadian clock of immune cells and the response to the parasite. Additionally, mice will be infected at different times of the day or night to study the effect of time of day on disease development. To better understand the role of circadian clocks, genetically modified mice lacking a functional circadian clock are used and infected with the parasite. On the other hand, the animals’ circadian rhythms is dirsupted and they are infected with Plasmodium, in order to evaluate their response to infection. Despite the widespread nature of vector-mediated parasitic diseases, very few studies exist on the circadian regulation of these infections. A better understanding of the programmed regulation of interactions between the host and the parasite will allow the development of better preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Project details

Basic Science
Immunology

Apr 2022 — Mar 2023

$10,756

Canada