Development of all life stages of Plasmodium vivax in the laboratory for studies of host-pathogen and pathogen-vector interaction and as a tool for the search for new strategies for malaria control and elimination

Long-term culture of the asexual blood stages of Plasmodium vivax has not yet been developed, and remains a barrier to studies on the biology of this species. Given this lack of cultivation, obtaining gametocytes, an infective form for the vector, also depends on the availability of infected people or experimental animals (non-human primates – PNH), and therefore obtaining sporozoites, an infective stage for humans produced in the vector. In this way, studies with this species of parasite are often restricted to endemic areas of the disease and/or laboratories with availability of PNH. The laboratory has the advantage of being located in an endemic malaria area, a few meters from an outpatient clinic for treating malaria patients (about 60 per month) and with an installed infrastructure containing insectarium with two species of susceptible anophelines, culture rooms and other accessories for these studies. In this way, we are investing in the establishment of all life stages of the parasite in the laboratory, whether blood, vector infection, and obtaining sporozoites to establish the hepatic stage, the most challenging, in particular the latent stage of the parasite (hypnozoites). Several subprojects have been developed with national and international partnerships aimed at establishing these stages and also pre-clinical trials of substances and vaccine formulations that may be used in the future to control the disease. This project is funded by FAPEAM through the CT&I call for priority areas for the subproject Development of a multi-stage vaccine formulation for vivax malaria and pre-clinical evaluation of its efficacy.

Project details

P. vivax

Jan 2021

Brazil

Towards a vaccine for Plasmodium vivax