NCT06064591

Host Immune and Metabolic Determinants of Sexual Conversion in Plasmodium Parasites IMMETASEX

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 458 (actual)
• Sponsor: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 1 Year
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Understanding the sexual conversion of the malaria parasite is essential to interrupt malaria transmission. A new tool is developed that, based on expression analysis of sexual stage biomarkers, will estimate sexual conversion rates in natural infections.

Detailed description

Understanding the sexual conversion of the malaria parasite is essential to interrupt malaria transmission. At each replicating cycle within erythrocytes, a proportion of asexual parasites converts into non-replicative sexual stages, which are the only forms able to infect mosquitos. The rate at which sexual stages are produced, is known as basal sexual conversion rate. Changes in the host immune and metabolic environment associated with the development of malaria disease, such as depletion of lysophosphatidylcholine in plasma, have been associated with increased sexual conversion rates in vitro. It is hypothesised that immune and metabolite factors that are altered during malaria infection induce sexual conversion in Plasmodium falciparum parasites. In this project, a new tool is developed that, based on expression analysis of sexual stage biomarkers, will estimate sexual conversion rates in natural infections. The aim is to identify immune factors and metabolites that induce sexual conversion using in-house developed sexual conversion assays, and experimental mosquito infections. Finally, transcriptional mechanisms are explored driving parasite sexual conversion in the host environment during disease using single-cell RNA-sequencing approaches. This research will provide essential knowledge on the factors that affect sexual conversion in the host and potentially inform novel strategies to interrupt transmission.

Conditions

• Severe Malaria
• Uncomplicated Malaria
• Asyptomatic Plasmodium Infection

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-12-13
• Primary completion: 2025-12-09
• Completion: 2025-12-09
• First posted: 2023-10-03
• Last updated: 2026-03-11

Locations

3 sites across 3 countries: Belgium, Burkina Faso, Mozambique