The key may be in the NEK1 gene.

Malaria is serious public health problem in many developing countries. This potentially fatal disease Transmitted to humans by certain species of infected female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Malaria will cause an estimated 608,000 deaths in 2022 (WHO) and is caused by the single-celled parasite Plasmodium, which attacks the liver and red blood cells.

A new research Led by Professor Rita Tewari from the university’s Faculty of Science and Professor Mathieu Brochet from the University of Geneva, the aim is to unravel the atypical way of parasite reproduction malaria, paying special attention stages of parasite development inside a mosquito in hopes of finding new therapeutic targets. In a new paper published in the journal PLOS Biology, a team of scientists from the university, along with collaborators from around the world, show how they discovered key regulators how malaria parasites control cell division.

“Kinases are the best targets for drugs, and it is important to unravel their role in parasite transmission.”

“Looking at Covid-19, it is clear that control parasite transmission This is no less important, in addition to fighting the disease. Therefore, having fundamental knowledge of how the parasite manages to divide inside the mosquito and what switches it uses will help develop intervention targets,” said Professor Tewari.

“One of the unusual cell divisions occurs during the formation of male germ cells,” the researchers explain. Recently, Professor Tewari’s research group focused on some proteins called kinases. “Kinases are a family of proteins that contribute to the control of almost all cellular processes and have already become important drug targets in the fight against cancer and other diseases. However, there is little research on these kinases and their involvement in cell division in Plasmodium species,” they note.

NEK1 protein could be a potential target for drugs that could stop malaria transmission

A team of researchers recently characterized two kinases: ARK2 and NEK1of which have published detailed information on how they facilitate parasite reproduction, especially during the intramosquito transmission stages. Kinases best drug targets and it is important to understand its role in parasite transmission. These two studies are a step in that direction,” says Tewari.

Scientists Mohammad Zeeshan and Sarah Pashley from Professor Tewari’s laboratory in Nottingham also took part in this study. The first author of the article, Zeeshan, said: “NEK1 is a functional protein Who’s playing decisive role at different stages of development Plasmodium. “Our study shows that removing the NEK1 protein from Plasmodium stops its cell division and sexual development.” This indicates that NEK1 may be a potential drug target not only stop malariabut also him transmission of infection.