A5012573739- Malaria Research and Control
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- Parasites and Host Interactions
- Trypanosoma species research and implications
- Insect Resistance and Genetics
- Digital Imaging for Blood Diseases
- Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology
- Insect Pest Control Strategies
- HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Computational Drug Discovery Methods
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Blood properties and coagulation
- Biosensors and Analytical Detection
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- Complement system in diseases
- Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies
University of Glasgow
2015-2024
Stockholm University
2022
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
2020
Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology
2012-2014
Wellcome Trust
2012-2014
Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution
2008
Weatherford College
2007
In-Q-Tel
2007
University of Edinburgh
1994-2004
New York University Press
1996
The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has a great capacity for evolutionary adaptation to evade host immunity and develop drug resistance. Current understanding of evolution is impeded by the fact that large fraction genome either highly repetitive or variable thus difficult analyze using short-read sequencing technologies. Here, we describe resource deep data on parents progeny from genetic crosses, which enabled us perform first genome-wide, integrated analysis SNP, indel complex...
Description of the genetic structure malaria parasite populations is central to an understanding spread multiple-locus drug and vaccine resistance. The Plasmodium falciparum mating patterns from Madang, Papua New Guinea, where intense transmission occurs, are described here. A high degree inbreeding occurs in absence detectable linkage disequilibrium. This contrasts with other studies, indicating that neither clonal nor panmictic but will vary according characteristics region.
SUMMARY The genetic structure of a population the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has been examined in village Tanzania. Seventeen alleles merozoite surface protein MSP-1 and 23 MSP-2 were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) among blood parasites inhabitants. Most infections contained mixtures genetically distinct clones. PCR was then used to examine individual P. oocysts, products fertilization events, wild-caught mosquitoes. Forty-five out 71 oocysts heterozygous for one or...
Blood is arguably the most important bodily fluid and its analysis provides crucial health status information. A first routine measure to narrow down diagnosis in clinical practice differential blood count, determining frequency of all major cells. What lacking advance initial diagnostics an unbiased quick functional assessment that can generate specific hypotheses. To address this need, we introduce continuous, cell-by-cell morpho-rheological (MORE) diluted whole blood, without labeling,...
Sporozoites, the invasive form of malaria parasites transmitted by mosquitoes, are quiescent while in insect salivary glands. Sporozoites only differentiate inside hepatocytes mammalian host. We show that sporozoite latency is an active process controlled a eukaryotic initiation factor-2α (eIF2α) kinase (IK2) and phosphatase. IK2 activity dominant gland sporozoites, leading to inhibition translation accumulation stalled mRNAs into granules. When sporozoites injected host, eIF2α phosphatase...
Several prototype vaccines against the asexual blood stage of malaria are undergoing preclinical and phase I testing. Although these have been chosen for their ability to elicit an anti-parasite response, no practical sensitive clinical trial procedure has available measuring impact on parasite growth. We describe a system that allows growth rates be measured in volunteers through incubation period. Two necessary elements this developed: suitable blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum inocula,...
Malaria parasites are capable of modulating the diversion resources from asexual growth to production stages infective mosquitoes (gametocytes). Increased rates gametocytogenesis appear be a general response stress, both naturally encountered and novel. We have previously reported earlier greater in subcurative antimalarial chemotherapy rodent malaria, Plasmodium chabaudi , vivo . Using an immunofluorescent assay detect that had invaded red blood cell monolayers, we demonstrate 5-fold...
The molecular mechanisms regulating the sexual development of malaria parasites from gametocytes to oocysts in their mosquito vector are still largely unexplored. In other eukaryotes, NIMA-related kinases (Neks) regulate cell cycle progression and have been implicated regulation meiosis. Here, we demonstrate that Nek-4, a new Plasmodium member Nek family, is essential for completion parasite. Recombinant falciparum Nek-4 possesses protein kinase activity displays substrate preferences...
Journal Article Genotyping of Plasmodium falciparum infections by PCR: a comparative multicentre study Get access A. Färnert, Färnert ∗ aDivision Infectious Diseases, Department Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge University Hospital, 14186 Huddinge, SwedenbDivision 17176 Stockholm, Sweden ∗Address for correspondence: Anna Division S-171 76 Sweden; phone +46 8 51771861 or 51773358, fax 51771806. anna.farnert@medks.ki.se Search other works this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google...
We have examined 83 inhabitants of Asar village in eastern Sudan, where malaria transmission lasts approximately 2-3 months each year, for the presence Plasmodium falciparum during prolonged dry season. All patients were treated with a standard dose chloroquine following first diagnosis, then by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) every two weeks subsequently once month next 15 throughout season until The PCR primers used amplified polymorphic regions merozoite surface protein-1...
The kinome of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum includes two genes encoding mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) homologues, pfmap-1 and pfmap-2, but no clear orthologue MAPK (MAPKK) family, raising question mode activation function plasmodial MAPKs. Functional studies in rodent model berghei recently showed map-2 gene to be dispensable for asexual growth gametocytogenesis, essential male gametogenesis mosquito vector. Here, we demonstrate by using a reverse genetics...
The transmission of malaria parasites depends on the presence sexual stages (gametocytes) in blood, making ratio and densities female male gametocytes important determinants parasite fitness. This manuscript describes development reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assays to separately quantify mature human Plasmodium falciparum, reveals that Pfs25 mRNA is expressed only gametocytes. (Pfs25) (Pfs230p) gametocyte specific RT-qPCR have lower detection limits 0.3 1.8 per microlitre...
Targeting parasite's protein kinase Malaria elimination goals are constantly eroded by the challenge of emerging drug and insecticide resistance. Alam et al. have taken established targets—CLK kinases involved in regulation RNA splicing—and investigated how inhibition enzymes blocks completion its complex life cycle. They identified an inhibitor CLK that was 100-fold less active against most closely related human effective at clearing rodent malaria parasites. Not only does this compound...
The differentiation of the two sexes in gametocytogenesis Plasmodium falciparum was investigated using a plaque assay and antibodies specific for various stages gametocytes. Immunofluorescence assays on plaques cultured parasites grown monolayers erythrocytes revealed that merozoites released from single sexually-committed schizont became either all male or female Thus, commitment this species to differentiate into one sex other is likely occur prior nuclear division schizont. characteristic...
Summary Two clones of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum , denoted 3D7 and HB3, were grown in vitro under conditions permitting development gametocytes. The two differ their allelic forms antigen genes MSP1 MSP2. alleles can be distinguished as size differences polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified fragments repetitive regions each gene. Mosquitoes ( Anopheles stephensi ) fed on a mixture these A total 128 oocysts was isolated from midguts infected mosquitoes 9 crossing...
Recrudescent Plasmodium falciparum parasites were sampled from 108 children taking part in a drug efficacy trial Gabon. A finger-prick blood sample was taken each child before treatment, and posttreatment of the recrudescent parasites. Sample deoxyribonucleic acid amplified by polymerase chain reaction using primers specific to P. antigen genes MSP-1, MSP-2 GLURP. Seventy-seven had identical their pre- post-treatment samples, indicating genuine recrudescences resistant Fourteen completely...
Summary Methods for estimating probability of identity by descent ( f ) are derived data on numbers genotypes at single loci and pairs with many alleles each locus. The methods general, but specifically applied to genotype frequencies in zygotes the malaria parasite sampled from its mosquito host order find extent outcrossing degree clonality populations. It is assumed that outcome either gametes same clone, which they identical all loci, or products two random, unrelated clones. From...
Since the development of methods for in vitro cultivation asexual blood stages P.faZciparum (1) and production mature gametocytes from such cultures capable infecting mosquitoes (2), it has been possible to conduct a wide range studies on sexual P. filciparum. These include infectivity this parasite (3) biology parasites vector (4) including transmission blocking immunity using monoclonal antibodies against gamete surface antigens (5) human sera following natural malarial infections (6). The...
Summary Osmiophilic bodies are membrane‐bound vesicles, found predominantly in Plasmodium female gametocytes, that become progressively more abundant as the gametocyte reaches full maturity. These vesicles lie beneath subpellicular membrane of gametocyte, and release their contents into parasitophorous vacuole has been postulated to aid escape gametocytes from erythrocyte after ingestion by mosquito. Currently, only protein known be associated with osmiophilic falciparum is Pfg377, a...
Abstract Background Post-transcriptional control of gene expression is suspected to play an important role in malaria parasites. In yeast and metazoans, part the stress response mediated through phosphorylation eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), which results selective mRNAs encoding stress-response proteins. Methods The impact starvation on state PfeIF2α was examined. Bioinformatic methods were used identify plasmodial eIF2α kinases. activity one these, PfeIK1,...