New Molecular Technique for Controlling Malaria Discovered

A new study says blocking a switch in the female mosquitoes responsible for egg development can prevent the spread of malaria.

The research was conducted by the researchers of the HSPH (Harvard School of Public Health) and UNIPG (University of Perugia) on the Anopheles gambiae species of mosquitoes, which are malaria spreading vectors.

The researchers discovered that a male hormone called 20E (20-hydroxy-ecdysone) triggers egg maturity in the female mosquitoes. The researchers aim at blocking the activation of the switch in the female mosquitoes.

 "These findings represent a significant step forward in our understanding of how these devastating malaria vectors reproduce," Flaminia Catteruccia, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases at HSPH and UNIPG stated in a press release.

The researchers examined the steroid protein 20E that impacts the MISO protein (mating-induced stimulator of oogenesis).

"How males contributed to egg development had been previously unknown; with the identification of the molecular players of this male-female interaction we can now find ways to switch off the signal and prevent females from reproducing," said Catteruccia.

The authors of the study tried reducing the egg development using chemical techniques, which would restraint the functioning of MISO protein. The researchers observed the process by which the 20E protein affects the MISO protein and how these two proteins interact and lead to fat accumulation in the ovaries of the female, which is required for the egg cell production process and for stimulating the fertility and the reproduction process.

"This is the first time, in any insect species, that a male hormone has been shown to directly interact with a female protein and alter the ability of the female to reproduce", stated co-author Francesco Baldini, a UNIPG graduate student who performed part of the analyses as a visiting scientist at HSPH.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) claims malaria to be the cause of majority of deaths worldwide. Around 660,000 deaths take place annually because of this disease, Africa is the most malaria-affected country, as about 90 percent of the