Insights into the molecular machinery involved in regulating Plasmodium liver-stage proliferation

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K08455
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Parasitology (including sanitary zoology)
• Research Institution: National Institute of Infectious Diseases
• Principal Investigator: Annoura Takeshi 国立感染症研究所, 寄生動物部, 主任研究官 (90407239)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 佐々木 年則 国立感染症研究所, 昆虫医科学部, 主任研究官 (10300930)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: マラリア / 肝内型原虫 / 増殖分子メカニズム / 寄生胞膜

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The protozoan parasites Plasmodium is the etiological agents of malaria that is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito to human. The Plasmodium liver-stage parasite represents the first of the intracellular infectious step in human following a mosquito bite, and this asymptomatic stage forms many thousands of merozoites with have undergone tremendous multinuclear hyper-proliferation. Some Plasmodium species generate a dormant uninucleate parasite during liver-stage development termed the hypnozoite which persists for months or even years following an infection. The developmental decision-making that controls promotes proliferation (or dormancy) in Plasmodium liver-stage is made before nuclear segregation. However, the detailed molecular mechanism(s) that regulates proliferation is poorly understood. We employed the rodent malaria models P. berghei to reveal molecular insights into Plasmodium liver-stage development.

Free Research Field

寄生虫学、分子生物学、細胞生物学