MOSCOW — A University of Idaho entomology professor is part of a team that recently received a four-year, $2.7 million grant for a study that could help control malaria.
Shirley Luckhart, a professor in UI’s department of entomology, plant pathology and nematology, and Mike Riehle, an entomology professor with University of Arizona, received the grant from the National Institutes of Health to further their prior research on how to starve the malaria parasite in infected mosquitoes.
Luckhart and Riehle have collaborated for more than 18 years, seeking to understand the biochemical mechanisms of mosquito resistance to infection by malaria parasites, which are single-cell protozoa. April 25 was World Malaria Day, recognizing the importance of combating a disease that claimed 619,000 lives in 2021, according to the World Health Organization, with 95% of all malaria cases in the WHO African Region.
Luckhart and Riehle and their research teams created a genetically modified strain of mosquito that resisted malaria parasite development. Their screening of the genetically modified mosquito pinpointed an overactivated biochemical pathway that proved to be the mediator of resistance to the malaria parasite.
Based on their analysis of the pathway, they identified drugs developed by St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital for treatment of a rare genetic condition, which when administered orally to mosquitoes depletes their pool of an essential nutrient, vitamin B5. The drug activates the conversion of vitamin B5 in mosquitoes into another compound, coenzyme A and starves the malaria parasite.
Luckhart envisions administering the medication to mosquitoes via bait stations in regions where malaria is prevalent. The bait stations would be part of a multipronged approach also involving insecticidal treatments and use of a recently developed malaria vaccine, which confers between 30% and 40%, and perhaps up to 75%, protection. Mosquitoes have already developed resistance to many insecticides so having other tools available to combat the disease is critical.
“This type of strategy can complement other existing approaches — new drugs, new insecticides, new vaccines, etc. — to eliminate and ultimately eradicate malaria,” Luckhart said.
