The development of
vaccines against malaria during pregnancy.
Dr. D.E. Arnot
Malaria is associated with
intrauterine growth retardation, infant mortality, premature delivery, low
birth weight and anaemia and death in the mother. Pregnancy associated malaria
(PAM) is a severe problem throughout the tropical world. It is a priority area
of study in our longstanding field research work in Sudan. The project offered
is in the analysis of the cell biology and immunology of PAM within the overall
context of a UK-Sudanese-Danish collaboration studying the epidemiology,
immunology and cell and molecular biology of pregnancy-associated malaria in
Sudan with a view to improving mother and infant health care, ultimately by
anti-malaria vaccination. The project will probably involve fieldwork in Sudan.
(For further information on this and related malaria vaccine research, visit
www.euromalvac.org).
The cell biological and
immunological questions which will be studied are; a. Which PfEMP-1 infected
red blood cell (IRBC) surface adhesion molecules are being expressed by
P.falciparum infected erythrocytes from peripheral and placental blood samples
of pregnancy related malaria cases ? b. Do placental chondroitin sulphate A
(CSA) binding parasites cause PAM in areas of low transmission such as Sudan?
In other words, when a relatively non-immune pregnant woman has a malaria episode,
are the parasites circulating during the attack predominantly CSA binders or
are other ligands involved?
References
Ward C P, Clottey G T,
Dorris M, Ji D-D & Arnot D E (1999) Analysis of Plasmodium falciparum
PfEMP-1/var genes suggests that recombination rearranges constrained sequences.
Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 102: 167-177.
Giha H, Staalsoe T, Dodoo
D, Roper C, Elhassan I M, Arnot D E, Hviid L & Theander T G (2000)
Antibodies to variable Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocyte surface
antigens are associated with protection from novel malaria infections.
Immunology Letters 71: 117-126.
Hamad A A, El Hassan I M,
El Khalifa A, Ahmed G I, Abdel Rahim S A, Theander T G & Arnot D E (2000)
Chronic Plasmodium falciparum infections under low intensity malaria
transmission in the Sudan. Parasitology 120: 447-456.
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