WASHINGTON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. researchers have discovered a promising new strategy for combating malaria, a mosquito-borne parasite that claims nearly a half-million lives each year, according to a new study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
Researchers at Brown University screened blood samples from children who had natural immune resistance to severe malaria infection.
The study identified an antibody to a particular malaria protein, called PfGARP, that appears to protect resistant children from severe disease.
Lab tests showed that antibodies to PfGARP seem to activate a malarial self-destruct mechanism, causing parasite cells living inside human red blood cells to undergo a form of programmed cell death.
The researchers are hopeful that vaccinating individuals with PfGARP to generate anti-PfGARP antibodies, or directly infusing anti-PfGARP antibodies, would protect them against severe malaria.
They developed preliminary versions of those vaccines, and testing in nonhuman primates has shown promise, according to the study. But testing of a human vaccine is likely years away. Enditem
