Malaria kills at least half a million people globally each year, with many deaths occurring in developing countries. In new research, scientists from the University of Nottingham discovered the protein that allows the malaria parasite to grow rapidly. Their findings could help develop new and better treatments for the disease.
The researchers studied a protein called cyclin, which is a key requirement in the process of cell division. They identified three types of cyclin whose role in the malaria parasite is not yet known, and focused on the P-type cyclin (CYC3).
The researchers found that CYC3 in the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei plays a key role in oocyst maturation and sporozoite development, indicating that it is important in the multiplication and development of Plasmodium.
"Cyclins are a really diverse class of proteins comprising many different types in different organisms," study co-author Bill Wickstead said in a press release. "What's interesting is that Plasmodium contains a really small set of unusual composition. It was clear that this was likely to be related to their unusual cell and life-cycles and Professor Tewari's group was in a great position to be able to test this."
This is the first research that has identified the types of, and analyzed the role of, cyclins in the malaria parasite.
"This first functional study of cyclin in the malaria parasite and its consequences in parasite development within pathogen-carrying mosquitoes will definitely further our understanding of parasite cell division, which I hope will lead to the elimination of this disease in the future," lead study author Magali Roques said in the press release.
The study was published in the Nov. 13 issue of the journal PLOS Pathogens.
