Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia welcomes Palestinian leadership reforms, appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Over 13 million worshipers pray at Rawdah Sharif in a year    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    Pope Francis laid to rest at historic funeral in Rome    Massive explosion at Iran's Shahid Rajaee Port injures over 500 people    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Experts identify key triggers in malaria vaccine hunt
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 19 - 01 - 2010

Scientists have identified two surface molecules in the malaria parasite that could lead to developing a vaccine against the disease that kills at least one million people each year, Reuters quoted a medical journal as saying on Wednesday.
The molecules, or antigens, appear to trigger powerful immune responses in patients that help protect them from falling ill in subsequent infections.
Led by Freya Fowkes at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia, researchers ploughed through 33 previous studies which analysed people who had suffered from malaria in the past but were now immune.
What they found was that two antigens -- MSP-3 and MSP-119 -- triggered particularly powerful antibodies in patients, which protected them from falling ill subsequently with malaria by 54 and 18 percent, respectively.
"People in malaria endemic areas develop natural immunity to malaria, what (these studies) have done is go into these communities and see what antigens (the people) have immunity to and see if we can use these antigens to make vaccines," Fowkes told Reuters ahead of the publication of the team's findings.
"We've reviewed all the literature that looks at surface antigens ... results suggest that response to the two (antigens) were most indicative of protection against clinical disease. There may be other antigens out there that may be protective but they have just not been well studied."
The study was published in the latest issue of PLoS Medicine on Wednesday.
ELUSIVE VACCINE
The malaria parasite multiplies by invading red blood cells in its victims.
"The parasite uses different antigens to attach to the different molecules on the surface of red blood cells ... once inside the red blood cells the parasite rapidly divides and multiplies, and red blood cells burst and release even more (parasites) that infect even more red blood cells," Fowkes said.
"You can get hundreds of thousands of infected red blood cells in a person."
A malaria vaccine has been difficult to make because the parasite is very diverse with many antigens on its surface.
"With measles, you get just one measles infection and you are immune for life," Fowkes said.
"With malaria, you need multiple infections to develop long term immunity to disease. The actual parasite itself is very diverse with lots of different antigens on the surface ... and it takes a while to develop enough immunity to all the different antigens to give long term protection against malaria."
"Some molecules will be more effective at stimulating an immune response than others. We have to prioritise the antigens and also look at others in making a vaccine."


Clic here to read the story from its source.