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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 'Breakthrough' in malaria fight | 'Breakthrough' in malaria fight |
| (8 minutes later) | |
| Australian scientists have identified a potential treatment to combat malaria. | Australian scientists have identified a potential treatment to combat malaria. |
| Researchers in Melbourne believe their discovery could be a major breakthrough in the fight against the disease. | Researchers in Melbourne believe their discovery could be a major breakthrough in the fight against the disease. |
| The malaria parasite produces a glue-like substance which makes the cells it infects sticky, so they cannot be flushed through the body. | The malaria parasite produces a glue-like substance which makes the cells it infects sticky, so they cannot be flushed through the body. |
| The researchers have shown removing a protein responsible for the glue can destroy its stickiness, and undermine the parasite's defence. | The researchers have shown removing a protein responsible for the glue can destroy its stickiness, and undermine the parasite's defence. |
| The malaria parasite - Plasmodium falciparum - effectively hijacks the red blood cells it invades, changing their shape and physical properties dramatically. | The malaria parasite - Plasmodium falciparum - effectively hijacks the red blood cells it invades, changing their shape and physical properties dramatically. |
| Among the changes it triggers is the production of the glue-like substance, which enables the infected cells to stick to the walls of the blood vessels. | Among the changes it triggers is the production of the glue-like substance, which enables the infected cells to stick to the walls of the blood vessels. |
| This stops them being pased through the spleen, where the parasites would usually be destroyed by the immune system. | This stops them being pased through the spleen, where the parasites would usually be destroyed by the immune system. |
| Painstaking tests | |
| The Australian team developed mutant strains of P. falciparum, each lacking one of 83 genes known or predicted to play a role in the red cell remodeling process. | The Australian team developed mutant strains of P. falciparum, each lacking one of 83 genes known or predicted to play a role in the red cell remodeling process. |
| Systematically testing each one, they were able to show that eight proteins were involved in the production of the key glue-like substance. | Systematically testing each one, they were able to show that eight proteins were involved in the production of the key glue-like substance. |
| Removing just one of these proteins stopped the infected cells from attaching themselves to the walls of blood vessels. | |
| Professor Alan Cowman, a member of the research team at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, said targeting the protein with drugs - or possibly a vaccine - could be key to fighting malaria. | |
| "If we block the stickiness we essentially block the virulence or the capacity of the parasite to cause disease," he said. | "If we block the stickiness we essentially block the virulence or the capacity of the parasite to cause disease," he said. |
| Malaria is preventable and curable, but can be fatal if not treated promptly. The disease kills more than a million people each year. Many of the victims are young children in sub-Saharan Africa. | Malaria is preventable and curable, but can be fatal if not treated promptly. The disease kills more than a million people each year. Many of the victims are young children in sub-Saharan Africa. |