Plasmodium
falciparum
0verview
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Malaria
Plasmodium falciparum biology
toxins
Vaccines
Mosquitoes
What is Plasmodium falciparum?
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Protozoa
Malaria
http://www.traveldoctor.info/diseases/1.html
Impact
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300 million acute illness
100 million deaths
A child in Africa dies
every 30 seconds
http://mosquito.who.int/cmc_upload/0/000/015/372/RBMInfosheet_1.htm
Most vulnerable population
http://www.lakareutangranser.se/default.asp?mall=1&ArtikelID=165&UrvKat=43&Kategori=
Symptoms of infection
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Characteristic fever 2-3
day cycle
cold stage
hot stage
sweating stage
Anemia
Renal failure
Seizures
coma
Diagnosis
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Symptoms
Microscopy
PCR
ELISA
http://mosquito.who.int/docs/hbsm_diagnosis.htm
Treatment
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Chloroquine most
common and effective
drug used to treat
malaria
Causes nausea, blurred
vision, and in some cases
neurological dysfunction
and seizures
http://www.globalphar.com/chl_pic.php
Roll Back Malaria
Insecticide treated nets
 Indoor residual spraying
 Intermittent
preventatives
 Prompt treatment
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http://www.rbm.who.int/cgi-bin/rbm/rbmportal/custom/rbm/home.do
Mosquitofish
http://www.clevelandaquariumsociety.org/mosquitofish.jpg
Life cycle of Plasmodium
Falciparum
http://post.queensu.ca/~forsdyke/pfalcip01.htm
Sporozoits in the liver
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Pores
Kupffer cells
Reproduction
http://k12education.uams.edu/scvlab/history.htm
Sporozoits in the blood
http://astuasbalas.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_astuasbalas_archive.html
Gametocyte development
Sexual
commitment
 Sequestered in
bones
 Resistance to
quinine
 Longevity
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“Female” gametocyte
http://www.bepast.org/dataman.pl?c=lib&dir=docs/photos/malaria
Gametocyte Infectivity
Temp drop
 Red blood cells
lysed
 Xanthurenic acid
and exflagellation
 eye color
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http://lozere.org/perso/malaria/parasit.htm
Gametogenisis
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Rapid morphological changes
“male” gametocyte
http://www.ksu.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Plasmodium01.html
Ookinets
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2 divisions
Anatomy of a mosquito midgut
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/biology/news/encounter/
Oocysts
Sporozoit budding
 Number of
sporozoits per
oocyst
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http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/plasmodium.html
Sporozoits
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Migration
http://www.malarlife.dfl.org.za/malaria%20virus%20photos.htm
Mosquito bites person…
http://post.queensu.ca/~forsdyke/pfalcip01.htm
Pathogenicity
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conMediaFile.5757/outputRegister/lowhtml
Toxins
Resistance
 Hemozin
 TNF-alpha IL-1
and IFN-gamma
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http://www.wordsources.info/words-mod-malaria.html
Tumor Necrosis factor
http://www.farm.kuleuven.ac.be/anafar/lab/protein/tnf.htm
Toxicity and pathogenicity
Proteins and cell membranes
Rosetting
Five receptors
 Immune
system evasion?
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Antigenic Variation
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Opportunities abound
http://www.lovetoparty.co.nz/images/SURPRISE.jpg
Crossover
http://www.stanford.edu/group/Urchin/GIFS/crossover.jpg
Var Family
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/dir/labs/lmvr/mgs.htm
Research About Malaria
PO phosphoriboprotein
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=15322057
Vaccines
New treatment
 Acquired immunity
 challenges
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http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/mmi/jmoodie/vacc2.html
Prevention of Liver stage infection
http://www.med.nyu.edu/parasitology/faculty/ufrevert.html
Vaccinating mosquitoes
http://www.bigthings.ca/manitoba/pictures/1mos1.jpg
Paratransgenesis
http://www.mbl.edu/Astrobiology/Riley/image/E.co
li.gif
http://www.invivo.fiocruz.br/celula/imagens/bacillus.jpg
Engineering mosquitoes
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3 stages
AgAper promoter
vitellogenin promoter
salvitory promoters
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/206/21/3809/FIG2
Other ways to reduce infection
http://www.wmconnolley.org.uk/bees/
http://k12education.uams.edu/scvlab/history.htm
Future challenges
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Funding
Research
Distribution
Funding
Conclusion
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"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways
that won't work." Thomas Alva Edison
Sources
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See notes section for a list of references
arranged by slide number.