A Mutation Is Making It Easier for Drug-Resistant Malaria to Spread
New findings shed light on what’s making the parasite less treatable using the drug that’s considered a first line of defense.
A team of researchers from Brown University, led by Jeffrey Bailey, conducted a comprehensive analysis of malaria parasite samples collected in Uganda between 2016 and 2024 to investigate the cause of drug-resistant malaria. Through whole-genome sequencing, they discovered that a specific mutation in the px1 gene, known as PIN, is likely responsible for the rise in drug resistance.
The PIN mutation, characterized by three amino acid mutations and two deletions, was found to be passed down through generations without undergoing recombination, suggesting rapid spread in recent years. Historical samples confirmed the presence of the PIN mutation as early as 2008, and its prevalence increased significantly over the years, reaching 84% in northern Uganda and 55% in eastern Uganda by 2024.
The PIN mutation was also found to reduce the sensitivity of malaria parasites to lumefantrine, a component of the widely used antimalarial drug artemether-lumefantrine. This finding highlights the urgent need to incorporate the PIN mutation into surveillance systems and develop new treatments to combat drug-resistant malaria.
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