Abstract
BackgroundPlasmodium falciparum is the deadliest strain of malaria and the mortality rate is increasing because of pathogen drug resistance. Increasing knowledge of the parasite life cycle and mechanism of infection may provide new models for improved treatment paradigms. This study sought to investigate the paramagnetic nature of the parasite’s haemozoin to inhibit parasite viability.ResultsParamagnetic haemozoin crystals, a byproduct of the parasite’s haemoglobin digestion, interact with a rotating magnetic field, which prevents their complete formation, causing the accumulation of free haem, which is lethal to the parasites. Plasmodium falciparum cultures of different stages of intraerythrocytic growth (rings, trophozoites, and schizonts) were exposed to a magnetic field of 0.46 T at frequencies of 0 Hz (static), 1, 5, and 10 Hz for 48 h. The numbers of parasites were counted over the course of one intraerythrocytic life cycle via flow cytometry. At 10 Hz the schizont life stage was most affected by the rotating magnetic fields (p = 0.0075) as compared to a static magnetic field of the same strength. Parasite growth in the presence of a static magnetic field appears to aid parasite growth.ConclusionsSequestration of the toxic haem resulting from haemoglobin digestion is key for the parasites’ survival and the focus of almost all existing anti-malarial drugs. Understanding how the parasites create the haemozoin molecule and the disruption of its creation aids in the development of drugs to combat this disease.
Highlights
Plasmodium falciparum is the deadliest strain of malaria and the mortality rate is increasing because of pathogen drug resistance
After 48 h the m-value of the culture exposed to the 0 Hz or static field increased by 15-fold, the culture exposed to a 1 Hz field increased by threefold, the culture exposed to 5 Hz decreased by 8.9-fold, and the culture exposed to the 10 Hz field decreased by 2.15-fold (Fig. 3)
The first is that the magnetic field is disrupting the formation of haemozoin by Conclusions This study is the first to show the effect of a rotating magnetic field on the growth of Plasmodium falciparum, to construct a way of quantifying the growth of the parasites and their death, and to show that a static field aids parasite growth
Summary
Plasmodium falciparum is the deadliest strain of malaria and the mortality rate is increasing because of pathogen drug resistance. This study sought to investigate the paramagnetic nature of the parasite’s haemozoin to inhibit parasite viability. The parasite matures through three life stages when in human blood: ring, trophozoite, and schizont. The haemoglobin is transported to a vacuole where it is digested into peptides that are degraded into amino acids. This process leaves free haem, which consists of an iron atom bound to four nitrogen atoms of the pyrrole ring of protoporphyrin IX. Gilson et al Malar J (2018) 17:190 project sought to exploit the paramagnetic nature of the parasite’s haemozoin to inhibit parasite viability
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