"Bolstered by a $1.9 million contract, Mizzou's internationally acclaimed malaria research team is developing a vaccine for the world's deadliest disease."--Page 1

Again, Carol

English

University of Missouri: MOspace

ZEROING IN ON MALARIA By CAROL AGAIN BOLSTERED by a SJ.9 million con· tract, i\lizzou'si111crnationallyacclaim-ed malaria research team is developing a \'artine for the world's deadliest disc;1.sc. The Agency for lntcnrntional Devel-op ment awarded 1hc tlHee-year contrnc1 to support ongoing work of Dr. Ted Green, assodate professor of veterinary minohiololl.,\', and the 1:3-mcrnhcr re-search team h(' [Pads. AID's previous support of Green's malaria i·psparch tuLalsSUM mi llion. The Mizzuu team's task is 10 prn-du<-·c u vactinP fnl' lhP 11wrm:oitt' stugc of ma lat·ia. Already. it's dcvelupetl a 16~ candidate vaccine of purified prntrin th;tl has withstood all tcs1i111-t thus for. Malaria is a disease of the past ill this country. But worldwide, some one hillion people livin)l in th1' 1ropics and sernitropics are at. risk. Transmitted hy mosquitoes eanying malaria parasites, the disease strik es :JOO million each year. "There's a resurg<'n<·'-' of malaria worldwide," says Green, who attributes this !O mos11uitucs' deve loping resis-Jann• tu inse1·1iddl.'s and 11ie hannin).( of some of these substanl'es for crwir-omtH'lltal reasons. Puliti cal and c<:u-numic umest ill some countriPs havf' disrup1cd \'fforts lo 1·orllrol llw illsetls as wt•ll, h<• says. At tlw same time, thf' parasites have become resistant. t.o .some chernu· therapf'ulil' aj.(f'11 ls used to 1rea1 thf' 1lis('ase. "::iu Wt' need lll'\\' drugs, new methods uf mosquito tont l'Ol and, nf c·ourse, a vaN:inc.'' GREEN, who bc).(all his val'cinc re-search six .\"t•ars a).(u at thP l'arke-Da\'is lfoscarch Laboratories i11 Detroit, l'<lllll' to Miizou ill l!.J8U. "Tlwrr was 1·los(•] y related rPsPar('h goinJ.( mi here on Bah-t•sia, a malai'ia- li kt• dist'as<' of ('allle," lie nutcs. "] also liked thl• llniversily The research of or. Ted Green, far left, garnered a $1.9 million contract from the Agency for International Development this fall . Green leads a research team that Is part of an International quest to develop a malaria vaccine. Through genetic engineering, Dr. Ram Guntaka, left, is translating research into a vaccine . Guntaka manipulates genes to produce malarial protein to be used in creating the vaccine Patricia De la vega, below, feeds the cu ltures used In the malaria research . She arrived at Mtzzou this fall from the 1nstltuto Naclonal de Salud-Bogota, another major laboratory site In the research network. ~17 Research specialist Jamie Wibbenmeyer operates a fraction collector in a column chromatographer to purify merozoites The surface proteins of t hese parasites are a key to creating a malaria vaccine. st rudure and !he polential fur inlPr· a<:ti on,"<'vidl'nt in thrdisciplim•sr<'p t\' · sC'ntcd 0111he UICrcscardi 1ram. Fac·ulty, n'Si'<ll'<'h staff and grad· ua!t' sLude11ts fro111 ret erinar',' micro· bio logy, \'l' IPt"inary pa1lwlog}:, rninn· hiology, l1 eallh ·relat('d pruft>ssiuns, la l1orn1ory animal rnl'di c· inr, Dall~ftl He·· scar<'h Cr111rr and ih<' lnslilulu \'aeiun al de Salud·Bogota SPIYP on ~liuou's learn. "TIH' i1lt•a is to use t•verything at our disposal to make !he vatc-irw 1he lll'st possi hh»" Orren says. But C\'Cll \\illi an inten!is("ipli11ar_\ t'!lurt. 1l1P pr11blt'm is hi ggt'I' than any one lahora lur:v, he says. \"attirlt's must he clew·luped t'oread101'malaria"stliree stagps, which arP tharaeterized by dif· fel'l·nl forms of t lw malaria parasitl', hec·aus(' none has bee11 fuu11d to be IOO 1wrn•ntdfC'di\'l'."OntC'allofthrs('an• eom hi1wd int o 11ne rnceinC', malal'ia 1..:uuld be he1tt•r 1·nntmll(•d." THE DISEASE'S complexi1y prornpl · 1•clA]J)11)forrnan i11 1ernarlunillresea1d1 11et\1'ork wlwst• m;ij<11· lah sit1•s intludt' lh r \ lniW'r:-l il.\', The Hockcfl'llrl' l't1in'r· sit~', Serip ps lus!itution, !\cw York l"ni vt• 1-sit~' , ~ lic-hi g11n Stair l lnivrrsi1.1•, l'ni fur·111ed Scrvit ·1·s (lni\·prsily, 1ht' \ 'ni\'Pl"· s i1 yofl lli1111is, !Ill' Institu1uNad1111aldc Salucl-Bogota i11 ('u!nmlJia and tile ("en tt• 1· fo1" [)i.~{'i\S{' Crmtrnl in A1lanta 18~ Each lah resl'arctws di!Tert•1Jt pha· ses of Hie dist'ilSP. In the lirsl stag(', malariupal'asites, i11 a form ca lkd spol'O· zni!('S, inrndetheliver. Syrnptomso(·ru r in th<' .~econd sta~e, when th<' spurn· zoitcscvuh"cintomcrozoitt'S:ltld invadl' rrd hl11od (•t•!ls. Errry .J8 hours, a tlll'l'· ozuilt• can mull iply 20 tinll's, al tacking nwn' rl'd f'f'lls and resulting in :trll'lllia, thi!Js.fevel'ordcath. In llH" 1hird s1agc, mos11ui1urs1hat hi1ethl'mala1favit1im hl'come l'ei11fected and are ah!t• t11 lransmittlwdisl':lSP. Tl1l'~ li zwu ll'am'sn·s('a1d1 IH·gins willl pantsirrs (1hto1i1H•<I fr1m1 malaria patit' !l(s in Africa a11d Ct'lllrnl Asia. Tl1Psl' an• gl'<1wn in 1·ul1111·e·s 111' l1urna11 1'<'11 blood <:ells and llwn plll into a gl'l;llit1s11lu1ion.Tl1rw11rnal1·t•!lsstad; up lik1'dll'("kersand sink. bur parasilt' i11\'adc·dc·1,lls!loat , alluwingl'esl'ard1ers luisulatl'lhern. These cells an' tli1'n pu! illtu a c·ultlll'l'll'here1heyreleasernnuzoi1rs. Bl't"allsf' 11w c·ulllll'l' r·o11t a i n .~ 1111 new f'ells tu invadl', llH' merozoill's n·main unchanged and are <·ol lec1ed fo1 resf'arrh. Gn•t'n f'Slimates tlrnt unl• billio11 lllNOZOites-all uf whidt rnuld tit on 1hf'lwadofapin - arl'gruwnwef'kl.vin 1\lizzuu labs Tile parasill'S<l!'l':tk(•ytor-reating I he vattine. " l ~es(•i! 1'( · 1i t•1·s fee l that the ar·1 ion of an1 ihudi~· s in a 111alaria vi(-. 1im's hrnl_\' is di1l'f"tt'd against thl" s111·· t'a<·(• fll'Oll'ill s or lllt"1'm.11itl'S," Gn•e n sa.\"s. A s11rfan··pn11t·in \'a<Tim-, !ht·11, sh11u ld s1imu la!t' thl' hod.v 1o prnd1ttl' erwugh a111ihodies to es1:ihlish i111mun· i!~'. Shou ld a vau·inatt>d 1wrsun ht• hilt ell Ii.van i11f"l'd1·1l rnosqui!11, tlll'anti · h11dies w111 ild aitat"h 111 thP nwr11zoiles, forming a gloh. Trap1wd. !ht• m1•rnz11i1rs would dit• within nlim11es. A FEAT in d(•vt'l 11pi11g 1l1r r:wc-int• is scparnting the· S!IJ'l"a1 ·1• 1mft1•ins fr11111 1hP n•s1 ot' tht> min11st·11pi<" mrrnzoi1es. "OlJ\'i1111sl.r,.1·1111t"a11 '1p1•t•l1l1t·rn," (]1·pp11 sa~·s. S11 t"l'St'ill'l"lll'l"S l"X)JllS(' Ill!' lllPl'OZ· ui1 f's !11 mdioa1·liw iod i1w an d put 1lwm i11 gels 1h:i1 sl'parntt• the pn11eins into layel'S b~· 11w!t·1·11la1· 11·1•igh!. X·rny films 1lien idt>111il'.1• th11s1· la.l't'l'S lahe!L>d with mdi11aC"li\'I' i11di11f'. ""[1h«tlly, 11nly those prott•ins e.~post>d 1rel't' 1111tlie1n1lsidt• 111" 1he merozui1rs,"" fln·1•111•xplai 11s. \\'hilt• lhe gel method is 1101 lh(• only way 10 st'paralt• llw prntl'ills, i1 is ont• 11f till' mos! efft•1·1i1·e, lie adds Th(• rwxt h1tl'lll(' is1r:rnsla1ingth(• 1·1•search intu a \'ilt"l°illl'. Tiit> a111ou11t of protl'in oh1ai11Pd t•ad1 rnon! h from mrroz· uilt's in the lah pr11hahl.r 1·ould11 "1 vat dnal<' more than ! fl 1w11plr, G1·1•en sa~'s, "so we could m·vermakeit availahl1•tu 1hl' 011!' hilliun 1woplr ;11 l'isk unl (•sswr go lo ulher lt•thniqut•s."" Th r answer, GrN'll sa.l's, is a gPra·! · ically e11gilll'l'l'ed vatl"ill(". "\\'t' 1·m1ld havP a 'fac·tory' gmwing tlll' smfa<·t• prnll'ins, 1w1 parasill'S. \\"1• t'1111ld gel a million ti11u•s 11wn• pnitc·in." llt·sl'ard1 \t'alll ll\l'llllwr Dr. llarn Gurnaka, assoc-ial1· pr·11f1·ssor 111' mio·•1· hiolug_v, is lPading llil' lllll'SI 111 prrn!11t·t• tht· Jll'o1t•ins. At'lt•r l'Xt1w·1ing nwrnz· uites' gt'Jlt'lic materi;1I , Ill" isolatt•s sill· glP geues and manipul:ttt"s !ht·m !11 Jl!'O· duce protein in howlp1·ial t'11l1111i1·s. '"\\\•'rl' h11pi11g 11t1l' ud111 1~· wi!I prn-dtwe thl' ma larial pr11t\'i11,"" G1·t·1•11 says. THE MALARIA t•xp1•rt hopt•s a puri · ficd prntein vanitll' tan be tt•Stl'd (1t1 ani111als ill a year. Jlpse:irthers will first irtjPf't rahhits an1! tlwn S11111h 1\mrri<"a!I Aolus munkt\\'S. ""An erlutat1•d gut•ss is tlwt it will he fil'l' vears before 11·e :t(·111al lv vau·i · na1e humans," hr sa~·s. ""\\'(• wan1 lu lw \' Cr~· t"ardu l ' D 

Zeroing in on malaria

https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/10355/73708/1/MizzouAlumnus1984JanP16-18.pdf

Zeroing in on malaria

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