User login
Image by Ke Hu & John Murray
Researchers say they have gained new insight into how malaria-related parasites spread inside humans and other animals.
The team discovered how the malaria relative Toxoplasma gondii manages to replicate its chromosomes up to thousands of times before spinning off into daughter cells—all while avoiding cell death.
The findings, published in PLOS Biology, may have implications for malaria treatment, according to the researchers.
Once transmitted into an animal or human, malaria-related parasites can hide out in a single cell in many different tissues, replicating thousands of times before the host’s immune system can detect them.
Then, they burst forth as daughter cells, which are unleashed in massive quantities, quickly overwhelming the body’s immune response.
The researchers found that Toxoplasma parasites pull this off thanks to the centrosome, which imposes order on the replication chaos.
“Unlike the comparatively simple centrosome present in human cells, the parasite [centrosome] has 2 distinct operating machines,” said study author Michael White, PhD, of the University of South Florida in Tampa.
“One machine controls chromosome copying, while the other machine regulates when to form daughter cell bodies. Working together, but with independent responsibilities, parasite centrosome machines can dictate the scale and timing of pathogen replication.”
This discovery of the centrosome’s function leads to a critical conclusion, Dr White said. Disrupting the centrosome machines kills the parasite. Breaking any part of the highly efficient but highly fragile replication function shuts everything down.
With these findings and the new knowledge of the parasites’ vulnerabilities, Dr White and his fellow researchers are planning to explore drug development for malaria. Whether the team is able to find an already-approved drug or must develop one from scratch, they said the drug will need to be used in conjunction with other therapies.
Dr White noted that current drugs used to treat malaria target the pathogen’s metabolism. But the goal of the new drug will be to undermine the parasite’s foundation in enough of the spreading cells to allow the immune system to fight back and not become overwhelmed. 
Image by Ke Hu & John Murray
Researchers say they have gained new insight into how malaria-related parasites spread inside humans and other animals.
The team discovered how the malaria relative Toxoplasma gondii manages to replicate its chromosomes up to thousands of times before spinning off into daughter cells—all while avoiding cell death.
The findings, published in PLOS Biology, may have implications for malaria treatment, according to the researchers.
Once transmitted into an animal or human, malaria-related parasites can hide out in a single cell in many different tissues, replicating thousands of times before the host’s immune system can detect them.
Then, they burst forth as daughter cells, which are unleashed in massive quantities, quickly overwhelming the body’s immune response.
The researchers found that Toxoplasma parasites pull this off thanks to the centrosome, which imposes order on the replication chaos.
“Unlike the comparatively simple centrosome present in human cells, the parasite [centrosome] has 2 distinct operating machines,” said study author Michael White, PhD, of the University of South Florida in Tampa.
“One machine controls chromosome copying, while the other machine regulates when to form daughter cell bodies. Working together, but with independent responsibilities, parasite centrosome machines can dictate the scale and timing of pathogen replication.”
This discovery of the centrosome’s function leads to a critical conclusion, Dr White said. Disrupting the centrosome machines kills the parasite. Breaking any part of the highly efficient but highly fragile replication function shuts everything down.
With these findings and the new knowledge of the parasites’ vulnerabilities, Dr White and his fellow researchers are planning to explore drug development for malaria. Whether the team is able to find an already-approved drug or must develop one from scratch, they said the drug will need to be used in conjunction with other therapies.
Dr White noted that current drugs used to treat malaria target the pathogen’s metabolism. But the goal of the new drug will be to undermine the parasite’s foundation in enough of the spreading cells to allow the immune system to fight back and not become overwhelmed.
Image by Ke Hu & John Murray
Researchers say they have gained new insight into how malaria-related parasites spread inside humans and other animals.
The team discovered how the malaria relative Toxoplasma gondii manages to replicate its chromosomes up to thousands of times before spinning off into daughter cells—all while avoiding cell death.
The findings, published in PLOS Biology, may have implications for malaria treatment, according to the researchers.
Once transmitted into an animal or human, malaria-related parasites can hide out in a single cell in many different tissues, replicating thousands of times before the host’s immune system can detect them.
Then, they burst forth as daughter cells, which are unleashed in massive quantities, quickly overwhelming the body’s immune response.
The researchers found that Toxoplasma parasites pull this off thanks to the centrosome, which imposes order on the replication chaos.
“Unlike the comparatively simple centrosome present in human cells, the parasite [centrosome] has 2 distinct operating machines,” said study author Michael White, PhD, of the University of South Florida in Tampa.
“One machine controls chromosome copying, while the other machine regulates when to form daughter cell bodies. Working together, but with independent responsibilities, parasite centrosome machines can dictate the scale and timing of pathogen replication.”
This discovery of the centrosome’s function leads to a critical conclusion, Dr White said. Disrupting the centrosome machines kills the parasite. Breaking any part of the highly efficient but highly fragile replication function shuts everything down.
With these findings and the new knowledge of the parasites’ vulnerabilities, Dr White and his fellow researchers are planning to explore drug development for malaria. Whether the team is able to find an already-approved drug or must develop one from scratch, they said the drug will need to be used in conjunction with other therapies.
Dr White noted that current drugs used to treat malaria target the pathogen’s metabolism. But the goal of the new drug will be to undermine the parasite’s foundation in enough of the spreading cells to allow the immune system to fight back and not become overwhelmed.