Malaria's Secrets Discovered

Malaria is one of the top three deadliest diseases in the developing world. It is resurging worldwide because of resistance to drugs and the lack of an effective vaccine. But now, Northwestern University researchers have discovered how malaria parasites persuade red blood cells to engulf them -- and how to block the invading parasites. The malaria marauders hack into the red cell's signaling system and steal the molecular equivalent of its password to spring open the door to the cell. But researchers have found that a common blood pressure medication -- propranolol -- jams the signal to prevent the parasite from breaking in.

Scientists had long been perplexed by malaria's ability to hijack red blood cells, then wildly multiply and provoke its life-threatening symptoms.

"This opens the possibility for important new drugs for malaria that won't become resistant. New drugs are urgently needed because the parasite has evolved resistance against virtually all types of commonly used drugs," said Kasturi Haldar, principal investigator for the study and the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor in the department of pathology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern. Sean Murphy, a Medical Sciences Training Program student, is the study's lead author.

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