New channels discovered between malaria and blood cells that could lead to treatment

New research into the deadliest form of the malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, shows another set of channels, pore-like holes, in the membrane sac surrounding the parasite that allows it to draw in nutrients from the infected blood cell. 

These channels enable the transfer of fat-like molecules called lipids, which sustain the parasite's growth and may also "secrete" other types of lipids that can hijack a healthy cell's functions, according to a press release from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The research follows on the heels of a groundbreaking discovery in the early 2000s that showed malaria creates two-way channels in red blood cells for the passage proteins and fatty tissues. These channels are nonexistent in healthy blood cells.  

Malaria draws some of its nutrients from consuming hemoglobin in red blood cells but needs further nutrient sources from outside the cell. These channels were discovered in 2000 by Dr. Sanjay Desai, an expert in malaria biology, and Dr. Joshua Zimmerberg, now Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, according to NIH. The most recent discovery was made by a team led by Zimmerberg. 

Mmore than 405,000 people died from malaria in 2018, many of which were children, and there were more than 228 million cases worldwide, according to the CDC. The highest rates of occurrences of malaria are in tropical and subtropical regions, affecting children who have not yet developed an immunity and pregnant women who have lower immune systems, according to NIH. More than one million people were dying yearly of the disease in the early 2000s.

These discoveries will help with the possibility of a treatment that could block the parasite.