The severity of malarial disease is influenced by interactions between the parasite, the host and environmental factors. In her third talk, Mota explains how her lab used a mouse model to study the impact of host nutritional status on disease severity. When they compared infections in calorically restricted (CR) mice and freely fed mice, they found less reproduction of the malaria parasite and a lower parasite load in CR mice. This suggested that Plasmodium are able to sense and respond to host nutritional status. Mota describes how her lab identified a key Plasmodium kinase, KIN, that seems to regulate parasite response to nutrient availability and may provide a target for antimalarial drugs.
View the full talk with additional resources on our website
Malaria and Malaria Parasites
Malaria kills about 500,000 people per year including many children. Dr. Maria Mota explains how better understanding the interactions between a host and the malaria parasite may help to prevent the disease and develop future treatments. (Talk recorded in July 2019)
- Part 1: Malaria: An OverviewAudience:
- General Public
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:38:44 - Part 2: Plasmodium Liver Stage Infection Activates Host Innate ImmunityAudience:
- Researcher
- Educators
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:23:36 - Part 3: Nutrient Sensing Modulates Malaria Parasite VirulenceAudience:
- Researcher
- Educators
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:30:38