plasmodium parasite

Studies of the malaria parasites infecting various non-human primates (NHPs) have increased our understanding of the origin, biology and pathogenesis of human Plasmodium parasites.

Malaria is a potentially lethal parasitic disease due to infection by Plasmodium parasites, transmitted by Anopheles mosquito vectors. Various preventative measures may be recommended for travellers who visit endemic areas. The diagnosis is generally evoked in the context of a febrile patient returning from an endemic zone. Nevertheless, symptoms and clinical signs may be difficult to interpret, and fatal cases may only be diagnosed retrospectively with laboratory techniques, specific pathological features and patient history. The present work reports a case of fatal cerebral malaria diagnosed post-mortem, along with the techniques that allowed identification of the causative agent.

In the last few decades, considerable efforts have been made towards the development of efficient vaccines against malaria. Whole-sporozoite (Wsp) vaccines, which induce efficient immune responses against the pre-erythrocytic (PE) stages (sporozoites and liver forms) of Plasmodium parasites, the causative agents of malaria, are among the most promising immunization strategies tested until present.

Plasmodium parasites, the cause of malaria, have a complex life cycle, infecting alternatively vertebrate hosts and female Anopheles mosquitoes and going through intra- and extra-cellular development in several organs of these hosts. Most of the ~5000 protein-coding genes present in Plasmodium genomes are only expressed at specific life stages, and different genes might therefore be subject to different selective pressures depending on the biological activity of the parasite and its microenvironment at this point in development.

Humoral immunity is critical for limiting Plasmodium parasite infections and the severity of malaria. Naturally acquired immunity against malaria occurs inefficiently and protection is relatively short-lived.