A new front in the fight against malaria: Experimental bed nets halt parasite growth inside mosquitoes
Flaminia Catteruccia is not a mosquito lover; she won't hesitate to kill one if it lands on her arm. But she does respect their adaptability and resilience. "They've been on the planet for 400 million years—much longer than humans," Catteruccia points out. "Trying to eradicate them is probably impossible. Even if it were feasible, it would have huge repercussions for our food chain and our…
A new weapon in the battle against malaria—experimental bed nets that halt parasite growth inside mosquitoes—has shown promising results. Flaminia Catteruccia, a researcher at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and her team have developed a novel approach to combat the deadly mosquito-borne disease by targeting the parasites within the insects rather than merely killing them.
Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal parasite causing malaria, multiplies inside mosquitoes, fueling its rapid growth. Catteruccia's team sought a drug that could penetrate the mosquito's protective exoskeleton and disable the parasite's mitochondria, which provide the energy needed for the parasite's development and transmission to humans.
They found that the drug atovaquone, already used to treat malaria in humans, was effective in killing the parasite when applied to mosquitoes before they fed on blood containing the infection.
However, atovaquone needed optimization for delivery through bed nets, which are typically coated with insecticides. Collaborating with Oregon Health & Science University, the team identified and improved two new compounds, endochin-like quinolones (ELQs), which could penetrate the mosquito's cuticle and target two key sites on an essential mitochondrial protein, reducing the likelihood of resistance development.
To test these compounds, the researchers coated bed nets with the ELQs and exposed mosquitoes to them in a lab setting. The results showed that brief exposure to the treated nets effectively stopped the parasite's growth. The team then tested the nets in Adama, Ethiopia, using patient-derived parasites to ensure the results held true in real-world conditions. The treated nets successfully prevented parasite development in mosquitoes, demonstrating their potential to protect people from malaria.
Further field trials are planned for Ethiopia's peak malaria season to assess the nets' efficacy under real-world conditions. If successful, these innovative bed nets could serve as an additional tool in the fight against malaria, offering a new way to combat the disease by targeting its parasites directly.
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