News - 2012

•  15/02

The Leiden Malaria Research Group and collaborators report on an approach for assessing the adequacy of attenuation of genetically modified malaria parasite vaccine candidates (published in  Vaccine)

The critical first step in the clinical development of a malaria vaccine, based on live-attenuated Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites, is the guarantee of complete arrest in the liver. We report an approach for assessing adequacy of attenuation of genetically attenuated sporozoites in vivo using the Plasmodium berghei model of malaria and P. falciparum sporozoites cultured in primary human hepatocytes.

•  08/02

The Leiden Malaria Research Group contributed to a paper discussing the role of animal models for research into development of new treatments for severe malaria (published in  Plos Pathogens)

In light of the recent controversies over the role of animal models for research into the development of new treatments for severe malaria, particularly cerebral disease, a group of scientists came together to discuss the relative merits of a range of animal models and their overlap with the complex clinical syndromes of human disease.

• 01/01

The Leiden Malaria Research Group developed and published a novel method (GIMO transfection) for transgene expression and gene complementation in rodent malaria parasites (published in  PlosOne).

Compared to existing protocols the novel methods of GIMO-transfection greatly simplifies and speeds up the generation of mutants expressing heterologous proteins, free of drug-resistance genes, and requires far fewer laboratory animals. In addition we demonstrate that GIMO-transfection is also a simple and fast method for genetic complementation of mutants with a gene deletion or mutation.

•  01/01

The Leiden Malaria Research Group and collaborators showed that CD36-mediated tissue sequestration of malaria parasites is benificial for the multiplication and growth of the parasites (published in  J. Exp. Med.).

These results reveal for the first time the importance of sequestration to a malaria infection, with implications for the development of strategies aimed at reducing pathology by inhibiting tissue sequestration.