Abstract
BackgroundMore than half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria and simultaneously, many malaria-endemic regions are facing dramatic increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Studies in murine malaria models have examined the impact of malaria infection on type 2 diabetes pathology, it remains unclear how this chronic metabolic disorder impacts the transmission of malaria. In this report, the ability type 2 diabetic rodents infected with malaria to transmit parasites to Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes is quantified.MethodsThe infection prevalence and intensity of An. stephensi mosquitoes that fed upon control or type 2 diabetic C57BL/6 db/db mice infected with either lethal Plasmodium berghei NK65 or non-lethal Plasmodium yoelii 17XNL murine malaria strains were determined. Daily parasitaemias were also recorded.ResultsA higher percentage of mosquitoes (87.5 vs 61.5 % for P. yoelii and 76.9 vs 50 % for P. berghei) became infected following blood feeding on Plasmodium-infected type 2 diabetic mice compared to mosquitoes that fed on infected control animals, despite no significant differences in circulating gametocyte levels.ConclusionsThese results suggest that type 2 diabetic mice infected with malaria are more efficient at infecting mosquitoes, raising the question of whether a similar synergy exists in humans.
Highlights
More than half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria and simultaneously, many malariaendemic regions are facing dramatic increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes
This study provides the first evidence that a metabolic disorder can enhance transmission of malaria parasites to mosquitoes using a rodent model of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and malaria
Similar to previously published reports, T2D mice infected with lethal P. berghei had decreased parasitaemias compared to infected wild-type controls, but gametocytaemias were no different from controls, except at day 4 post-infection (Fig. 1a, b)
Summary
More than half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria and simultaneously, many malariaendemic regions are facing dramatic increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Studies in murine malaria models have examined the impact of malaria infection on type 2 diabetes pathology, it remains unclear how this chronic metabolic disorder impacts the transmission of malaria. In a rodent model, T2D hosts with malaria may have altered duration and/or intensity of infection, possibly making them more efficient disease reservoirs. These studies clearly demonstrated that T2D and obesity can impact circulating levels of asexual parasites in mice, to Pakpour et al Malar J (2016) 15:231 date no published studies have examined the effects of T2D on malaria transmission to mosquitoes in any mammalian system. This study provides the first evidence that a metabolic disorder can enhance transmission of malaria parasites to mosquitoes using a rodent model of T2D and malaria
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