The First Malaria-Proof Mosquito

Malaria: No Ordinary Mosquito Bite

Collected from: YouTube - Malaria: No Ordinary Mosquito Bite

Malaria-proof mosquito engineered

Scientists in the US have succeeded in genetically engineering a malaria-resistant mosquito. 

The researchers, from the University of Arizona, introduced a gene that affected the insect's gut, meaning the malaria parasite could not develop.

They report the advance, which also reduced the insects' lifespan, in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

They say that the ultimate goal is to introduce malaria-resistant mosquitoes into the environment.

Collected from: BBC News - Malaria-proof mosquito engineered

malaria lifecycle

Collected from: YouTube - malaria lifecycle

Malaria-Proof Mosquito Created

This major breakthrough could prevent millions of people from being infected with the life-threatening disease.

The scientists focused on the parasites as they develop by targeting the Akt gene. Previous studies have shown that Akt affects a mosquito's longevity, immune system and digestion -- all of which could affect the bug's susceptibility to malaria.

As a result, the team engineered a special version of the Akt gene into the eggs of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes.

After infecting the mosquitoes with Plasmodium parasites and allowing them to develop, the scientists examined the mosquitoes. They found no trace of the malaria parasites in mosquitoes that had the amped up version of Akt.

Exactly how Akt eliminates malaria in mosquitoes is unknown.

Collected from: Malaria-Proof Mosquito Created : Discovery News

The First Malaria-Proof Mosquito

Michael Riehle, holding genetically altered mosquitoes, and his team work in a highly secure lab environment to prevent their study subjects from escaping.

Riehle is a professor of entomology in UA's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and is a member of the BIO5 Institute.

Riehle's team used molecular biology techniques to design a piece of genetic information capable of inserting itself into a mosquito's genome. This construct was then injected into the eggs of the mosquitoes. The emerging generation carries the altered genetic information and passes it on to future generations.

Collected from: The First Malaria-Proof Mosquito | UANews.org

Research Program

Mosquito borne diseases impact the lives of billions worldwide. Malaria alone infects at least 300 million people annually, resulting in 1 to 3 million deaths, mostly children. Other diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue and West Nile encephalitis, continue to broaden their range. Unfortunately, traditional mosquito control methods such as insecticide treatment have become less effective as mosquitoes develop resistance to these compounds. Thus, it is critical that we develop novel means of controlling these pests. Towards this goal, my lab is attempting to better understand the mosquito’s physiology and use this knowledge to reduce the mosquito’s ability to transmit disease.

Collected from: Department of Entomology

Sources

YouTube - Malaria: No Ordinary Mosquito Bite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVbq2yQH52g
BBC News - Malaria-proof mosquito engineered
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10654599
YouTube - malaria lifecycle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szlfndj0TFE&feature=related
Malaria-Proof Mosquito Created : Discovery News
http://news.discovery.com/tech/malaria-proof-mosquito.html
The First Malaria-Proof Mosquito | UANews.org
http://uanews.org/node/32833
Department of Entomology
http://ag.arizona.edu/ento/faculty/riehle.htm

Related

Plasmodium falciparum biology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium_falciparum_biology
Plasmodium falciparum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium_falciparum
First malaria-proof mosquito created | Science Codex
http://www.sciencecodex.com/the_first_malariaproof_mosquito?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Observations: Bite me: New malaria-proof mosquito developed
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=bite-me-new-malaria-proof-mosquito-2010-07-15
The first malaria-proof mosquito
http://www.labspaces.net/105126/The_first_malaria_proof_mosquito
Department of Entomology
http://ag.arizona.edu/ento/index.htm
Plasmodium in human blood cells, malaria, molecular models
http://www.buddycom.com/cells/malaria/index.html
PLoS Pathogens: Activation of Akt Signaling Reduces the Prevalence and Intensity of Malaria Parasite Infection and Lifespan in Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes
http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1001003
YouTube - Malaria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEDhe4MPEMc

Mosquitoes Against Malaria

Clipped from: The Associated Press: Mosquitoes deliver malaria 'vaccine' through bites

Mosquitoes deliver malaria 'vaccine' through bites

In a daring experiment in Europe, scientists used mosquitoes as flying needles to deliver a "vaccine" of live malaria parasites through their bites. The results were astounding: Everyone in the vaccine group acquired immunity to malaria; everyone in a non-vaccinated comparison group did not, and developed malaria when exposed to the parasites later.

The study was only a small proof-of-principle test, and its approach is not practical on a large scale. However, it shows that scientists may finally be on the right track to developing an effective vaccine against one of mankind's top killers. A vaccine that uses modified live parasites just entered human testing.

Clipped from: Effective Vaccine For Malaria Possible, Study Shows

Effective Vaccine For Malaria Possible, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (July 30, 2009) — Scientists in Singapore, The Netherlands and France report that they have developed a novel immunization method that will induce fast and effective protection in humans against the life-threatening malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, which infects 350 to 500 million people world-wide and kills over one million people each year.

Clipped from: In New Trial, Mosquitoes Spread Malaria Vaccine | Popular Science

In New Trial, Mosquitoes Spread Malaria Vaccine

Malaria kills upwards of a million people a year, infects hundreds of millions, and significantly damages the economies of dozens of countries. Cures and prophylaxis for malaria range from bug nets to drugs to gin and tonics, but none are weirder -- or more poetically just -- than a new method that uses mosquitoes themselves to deliver a malaria vaccine.

Clipped from: Ouch: Mosquito Bites Deliver Malaria Vaccine : EcoWorldl

The Mosquito Bite Study

The study, which took place at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, included 15 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 45. 10 people were in the vaccine group and five in the control group. All 15 were given chloroquine for a three-month period and exposed to mosquito bites once a month for three months.

The vaccine group was exposed to malaria-infected mosquitoes while the comparison group was exposed to non-infected mosquitoes. One month after the entire group stopped taking the drug, all 15 volunteers were bitten by the infected mosquitoes. None of the 10 people in the vaccine group developed parasites but all five in the control group did!

Clipped from: NEJM -- Protection against a Malaria Challenge by Sporozoite Inoculation

Protection against a Malaria Challenge by Sporozoite Inoculation

Meta Roestenberg, M.D., Matthew McCall, M.D., Joost Hopman, M.D., Jorien Wiersma, Adrian J.F. Luty, Ph.D., Geert Jan van Gemert, B.Sc., Marga van de Vegte-Bolmer, B.Sc., Ben van Schaijk, M.Sc., Karina Teelen, Theo Arens, Lopke Spaarman, B.Sc., Quirijn de Mast, M.D., Will Roeffen, Ph.D., Georges Snounou, Ph.D., Laurent Rénia, Ph.D., Andre van der Ven, M.D., Cornelus C. Hermsen, Ph.D., and Robert Sauerwein, M.D.

Figure 1. Study Design and Enrollment.

Immunologic assessment was performed 1 day before the first immunization (day I-1) and 1 day before challenge infection (day C-1). A final challenge with infectious mosquito bites was performed 28 days after the discontinuation of chloroquine prophylaxis.

Sources:

1. The Associated Press: Mosquitoes deliver malaria 'vaccine' through bites
2. Effective Vaccine For Malaria Possible, Study Shows
3. In New Trial, Mosquitoes Spread Malaria Vaccine | Popular Science
4. Ouch: Mosquito Bites Deliver Malaria Vaccine : EcoWorldly
5. NEJM -- Protection against a Malaria Challenge by Sporozoite Inoculation

Related:

1. Singapore Immunology Network
2. The Great Beyond: Mosquitoes against malaria?
3. Malaria vaccine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4. Radboud University - Homepage - www.ru.nl
5. Radboud University - Centre for Clinical Malaria Studies - www.ru.nl
6. UMC St Radboud
7. Little Malcolm's Swimming Pool: Malaria Vaccine

New microscopy techniques reveal details of Malaria infected cells

Clipped from: Shining a light on malaria’s covert operations - R & D

Shining a light on malaria’s covert operations

Sept. 4, 2008

In work that could lead to new ways of detecting and treating malaria, MIT researchers have used two advanced microscopy techniques to show in unprecedented detail how the malaria parasite attacks red blood cells.

The researchers' images show red blood cell membranes becoming less flexible, which causes the cells to clump as they try to navigate tiny blood vessels. They also show the destruction of hemoglobin, the critical molecule that red blood cells use to carry oxygen.

The images are made possible by microscopy techniques that reveal tiny vibrations in red blood cell membranes.

---

Clipped from: MIT zooms in on malaria-infected cells - MIT News Office

MIT news

MIT zooms in on malaria-infected cells

Work could aid in diagnostics, drug testing

Human red blood cells (RBCs) invaded by Plasmodium falciparum. Three dimensional maps of the refractive index and nanoscale cell membrane fluctuations of infected human RBCs were constructed at different maturation stages of the parasite's by two non-invasive optical techniques: Tomographic Phase Microscopy and Diffraction Phase Microscopy. Color added for visualization. Image courtesy / YongKeun Park, Michael Feld and Subra Suresh




3D images of a human red blood cell (RBC) invaded by malaria-inducing parasite Plasmodium falciparum, at different stages of parasite development. The images are based on 3D maps of the refractive index in the cell, recorded by the non-invasive optical technique of Tomographic Phase Microscopy. Healthy RBC exhibits a characteristic biconcave shape (left). During the early stage of parasite maturation (center), the parasitophorus vacuole is shown as yellow region. In the late schizont stage, parasitized RBC is subjected to severe morphological changes (right). The blue regions inside the cell indicate parasite-produced hemozoin, a crystallized form of digested hemoglobin. Image courtesy / YongKeun Park, Michael Feld and Subra Suresh



"By studying the way the cell membrane vibrations progressively change as the malaria parasite matures inside the cell, we can study the changes in its mechanical, elastic and dynamic properties," said Michael Feld, director of MIT's George Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory and a professor of physics.

Related:

Shining a light on malaria’s covert operations - R & D
MIT zooms in on malaria-infected cells - MIT News Office
Watching P. falciparum at Work - Medgadget - www.medgadget.com
MIT Physics Faculty: Michael S. Feld
DMSE - Faculty - Subra Suresh

The PROVECTOR - New way to prevent the spread of Malaria

The technology is hidden in an artificial flower designed to attract mosquitoes and treat them with pathogen-killing drugs that allow the insects to live and continue to perform important functions such as pollinating flowers and serving as food for animals and other insects.

Once mosquitoes take in the antiviral formula in the traps, it works with their system to block the development of the disease, killing it but not the mosquito.

A 'Flower' That Delivers Disease-Killing Treatments to Mosquitoes: Scientific American

related:
Doctor Says His Latest Invention Could Help Save Lives
MIT Holding and the PROVECTOR Highlighted on the Savannah, GA CBS Affiliate News Broadcast
CBS NEWS :: MIT HOLDING AND THE PROVECTOR HIGHLIGHTED ON THE SAVANNAH, GA CBS AFFILIATE NEWS BROADCAST