Malaria's cloak n dagger game busted

Malaria's cloak n dagger game busted

Scientists 'Down Under' have deduced that Plasmodium falciparum, the germ that causes Malaria, is quite an artful dodger and the devious tactics that the parasite uses to fool the human immune system might even put professional con-artists to shame!

Scientists have for long been baffled by Plasmodium's ability to readily infect a large number of people quickly. The answer lies in the bug's ability to control genes that make a series of 'cloaking' proteins. It uses these 'cloaking' proteins as a camouflage to avoid being attacked by the human immune system. The parasite also has the capability to trigger a specific cloaking gene and keep many others dormant yet ready. These are used in turn if their predecessor is recognised by the immune system.

The study was conducted by Australian researchers from Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the findings have been published in the latest issue of the jounal Nature.

The researchers say a key step in the modus operandi of the pathogen is the use of a special region of DNA called a promoter, which Dr. Alan Cowman, a member of the research team, says, “…is all you need for activation and silencing.”

As many as 60 variants of the gene family responsible for the key protein exist with subtle differences amongst them. According to the study findings, activation of a gene promoter not only jump starts activity in one of these genes, but also hushes up the remaining 59.

Malaria claims the lives of an estimated 2.7 million people every year, 75 percent of whom are children under five in Africa. The researchers are hopeful that this breakthrough will lead to new cures that tackle the parasite's surreptitious invasion.