Last Updated: 01/10/2025
Placental attachment mechanisms in Plasmodium falciparum malaria
Objectives
This study aims to identify human proteins that interact with the parasite by using principal investigator’s own bioresources and methods.
“Gestational malaria,” in which malaria-infected red blood cells adhere to the surface of the placenta and grow, is primarily fatal to the fetus, and various countermeasures are required. However, the details of the molecular mechanism of placental adhesion of infected red blood cells remain unsolved. In recent years, the investigators have comprehensively analyzed antibodies from parous women who are resistant to gestational malaria using recombinant malaria proteins comprehensively prepared from the parasite genome, and found that the target is the parasite molecule on the surface of infected red blood cells. This study will promote the difficult development of a pregnancy malaria vaccine and save the fetus from fighting malaria in the mother’s body.
Apr 2024 — Mar 2027
$123,617
