Malaria resistance: understanding for better action
Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted to humans by certain species of mosquito. Every year, the disease infects more than 260 million people and causes around 600,000 deaths. To combat this disease, treatments based on artemisinin derivatives have been developed, but in recent years, cases of resistance have been reported, threatening the efficacy of current treatments.
Researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Institut Pasteur study resistance mechanisms
To better understand these resistances and adapt control strategies, researchers at Inserm, CNRS and Institut Pasteur have conducted studies into the mechanisms by which parasites escape from treatments. They have discovered that some resistant parasites escape current detection tests, which can distort surveillance and prevention data. The research team is therefore working to identify these mechanisms so that they can be better taken into account in the fight against malaria.
Young forms of the parasite are a priori the most resistant, hence the need to carry out the detection test at the ring stage of its life cycle,” comments the researcher. But what we’re observing here is totally different. In the parasite lines we studied, young parasites were sensitive to drugs, but later became insensitive to them. By focusing on the youngest forms, the ring stage test therefore seems unsuitable for identifying this changeover. ”
Adapting tests for better monitoring
Currently, malaria resistance monitoring relies on two laboratory tests: the first aims to detect a mutation in a parasite-specific gene, while the second measures the survival rate of young parasites exposed to treatment. However, these tests are not sufficiently sensitive to detect all forms of resistance, as the experiments carried out by the research team have shown. To better monitor and prevent the spread of resistance, these tests need to be adapted to take account of other parasite escape mechanisms.
Lucie Paloque is a researcher at the CNRS Coordination Chemistry Laboratory, in the Nouvelles molécules antipaludiques et approches pharmacologiques team headed by Françoise Benoit-Vical ( Inserm Unit 1289), Toulouse.
Sources :
L. Paloque et al. Artemisinin pressure in field isolates can select highly resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites with unconventional phenotype and no K13 mutation. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy February 4, 2025; doi: 10.1128/aac.01541-24
“This article has been adapted from content published by Inserm. Find the source article and all references on the Inserm website.”