Identification of mosquito-specific factors which promote growth and differentiation of malaria parasite in the vector mosquito

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24659188
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Parasitology (including Sanitary zoology)
• Research Institution: Kagawa University
• Principal Investigator: ARAI Meiji 香川大学, 医学部, 准教授 (30294432)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): HIRAI Makoto 順天堂大学, 医学部, 准教授 (50326849)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: マラリア原虫 / 蚊体内ステージ / オオシスト培養

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Recently we have developed an in vitro culture system for development of mosquito stages of rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei. Interestingly, the sporozoites produced by the culture system are not infectious to mice, suggesting that some unidentified mosquito-derived factor(s) might be essential for mosquito stages of P. berghei to grow and differentiate into infectious sporozoites. Based on this working hypothesis, we tried to identify mosquito-specific factor(s) which promotes parasite development in the mosquito vector, by using our in vitro culture system. Extract from pupae showed only small effect on sporozoite development, although extract of adult mosquitoes did not show any promoting effect on parasite development. Technical improvement on preparation of much more concentrated mosquito extract may allow us to identify active factor(s) which promote infectious sporozoite development in the vector mosquito.

Free Research Field

寄生虫学