MSGID: 1:317/3 6274a4b8   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    New discovery to improve malaria elimination strategies    
      
     Date:   
         May 5, 2022   
     Source:   
         Walter and Eliza Hall Institute   
     Summary:   
         Researchers have made a crucial discovery about how asymptomatic   
         malaria infections impact the body, informing potential strategies   
         to control transmission and improve treatment outcomes.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
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   WEHI researchers in Melbourne have made a crucial discovery about how   
   asymptomatic malaria infections impact the body, informing potential   
   strategies to control transmission and improve treatment outcomes.   
      
      
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   The research team has shown that persistent, asymptomatic malaria   
   infections are not innocuous as previously believed. Instead, these   
   infections suppress the immune system, preventing it from eradicating   
   parasites from the bloodstream.   
      
   At a glance   
       * Researchers have discovered that asymptomatic malaria infections   
       are not   
         benign as previously thought.   
      
       * These asymptomatic infections suppress the immune system,   
       preventing the   
         body from taking full control of the malaria parasites.   
      
       * The findings encourage treatment of asymptomatic infection to stop   
         parasite transmission and increase the effectiveness of the   
         malaria vaccine.   
      
   The findings published in Molecular Systems Biology provide an alternative   
   view to the long-held belief that asymptomatic malaria infections are   
   beneficial to help reduce the risk of severe disease, and suggest that   
   treating chronic infections could enhance vaccine effectiveness and   
   reduce transmission.   
      
   The study was led by WEHI PhD student Stephanie Studniberg and Associate   
   Professor Diana Hansen in collaboration with researchers from Indonesia's   
   Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, the Papuan Health and Community   
   Foundation, and the Menzies School of Health Research at Charles Darwin   
   University.   
      
   Is asymptomatic malaria a problem?  Malaria remains one of the most   
   serious infectious diseases of humans with over 200 million clinical   
   cases and 600,000 deaths estimated in 2020.   
      
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Some people can develop immunity to the malaria parasite Plasmodium   
   falciparum after many years of repeated infections. In these patients,   
   a small number of parasites continue to live silently in the bloodstream   
   but do not cause fever- like symptoms.   
      
   "These infections have historically been viewed as beneficial because   
   they were thought to offer protection against symptomatic disease,"   
   said Associate Professor Hansen.   
      
   "Based on this assumption, asymptomatic malaria is often left untreated   
   in countries where malaria is endemic, despite our poor understanding   
   of the real impact that these persistent infections have on people."   
   New studies report asymptomatic infections are responsible for up to   
   half of new transmissions, often sliding under the radar and sabotaging   
   efforts of malaria elimination programs.   
      
   Asymptomatic infections are not benign To investigate the real impact   
   of asymptomatic disease, the research team analysed the white blood   
   cells of patients carrying asymptomatic and symptomatic infections in   
   an endemic area of Indonesia.   
      
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   They found that patients with chronic asymptomatic malaria infections   
   upregulated genes that suppressed the immune system, making more proteins   
   to help the parasites survive.   
      
   Associate Professor Hansen said that because the immune system is   
   suppressed and cannot work at full capacity, the body cannot take control   
   of the parasites and clear them from the bloodstream.   
      
   A new strategy to fight malaria Immunosuppression caused by asymptomatic   
   malaria infections could have critical implications for the administration   
   of malaria vaccines and elimination strategies around the world.   
      
   "In an immunosuppressed individual carrying an asymptomatic malaria   
   infection, the effectiveness of the malaria vaccine is reduced as the   
   immune system does not have the capacity to be trained appropriately,"   
   said Associate Professor Hansen.   
      
   "If we were to treat individuals with asymptomatic malaria infections,   
   we would also reduce the invisible parasite reservoir that perpetuates   
   transmission and deters efforts of malaria elimination campaigns."   
   The new information provides a framework to consider new polices   
   supporting screening and treatment of asymptomatic malaria in endemic   
   areas around the world.   
      
   The research was supported by the NHMRC, the Australian Academy of   
   Science, and the Ministry of Research and Technology of the Republic   
   of Indonesia.   
      
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by Walter_and_Eliza_Hall_Institute. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Stephanie I Studniberg, Lisa J Ioannidis, Retno A S Utami,   
      Leily Trianty,   
         Yang Liao, Waruni Abeysekera, Connie S N Li‐Wai‐Suen,   
         Halina M Pietrzak, Julie Healer, Agatha M Puspitasari, Dwi   
         Apriyanti, Farah Coutrier, Jeanne R Poespoprodjo, Enny Kenangalem,   
         Benediktus Andries, Pak Prayoga, Novita Sariyanti, Gordon K Smyth,   
         Alan F Cowman, Ric N Price, Rintis Noviyanti, Wei Shi, Alexandra   
         L Garnham, Diana S Hansen. Molecular profiling reveals features   
         of clinical immunity and immunosuppression in asymptomatic   
         P. falciparum malaria. Molecular Systems Biology, 2022; 18 (4)   
         DOI: 10.15252/msb.202110824   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220505085627.htm   
      
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