Malaria, molecules that block transmission discovered

New molecules that block the transmission of the malaria parasite have been identified thanks to a collaboration between the Higher Institute of Health, the Irbm of Pomezia and the National Research Center. The study, conducted by combining innovative methods and published in ‘Communications Biology’, represents the “first step to develop new drugs” with the aim of “eliminating this serious infectious disease”, report from the ISS. Responding to the indication of the World Health Organization, to attack the plasmodium of malaria on several fronts – explain from the Institute – scientists have collaborated in recent years in the search for new molecules capable of blocking the transmission of the most dangerous of malarial parasites, the Plasmodium falciparum, in a project funded by the public-private consortium Cnccs, formed precisely by Cnr, Iss and Irbm. In this work, 7 molecular structures (chemotypes) have been identified, 3 of which have never been identified in the past, capable of killing gametocytes (the forms of the parasite transmissible to the Anopheles mosquito) and prevent the development of the parasite in the mosquito. Success was made possible by leveraging biological knowledge on gametocytes, skills in large-scale screening of pharmacologically active compounds, and exploiting the potential of innovative cell assays on transgenic parasites. “The supply chain of biological assays developed in this collaboration was able to efficiently and quickly test 120 thousand compounds, which corresponds to about a third of those so far tested overall by various laboratories around the world in search of new anti-transmission drugs – underlines Giacomo Paonessa. , Group Leader of Irbm – This result therefore opens the way to even wider screening to identify even better compounds against parasite transmission. “” The action of the molecular structures is to disrupt the life cycle of P. falciparum and thus the spread of malaria to other individuals “, comments Pietro Alano, researcher of the ISS, highlighting that” the importance of this new chain of assays is its efficiency and speed in identifying both molecules active only against gametocytes and doubly active molecules, that is they also kill the forms of the parasite that cause the very serious symptoms of the disease.Today, eliminating malaria requires of both types of drugs “. For over 5 years – the authors recall – the fight against malaria at a global level has been at a standstill, today aggravated by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health systems of the most affected countries, mainly In Africa. In 2021, 240 million new cases and 630,000 deaths were recorded in the world, mainly African children under the age of 5. A picture made more and more worrying by the onset of parasites and mosquitoes resistant to even the most modern drugs and insecticides.