Targeting Erythrocyte Determinants of Malaria Infection

Manoj Duraisingh of the Harvard School of Public Health in the U.S. will use RNAi screening to identify critical determinants in human red blood cells (erythrocytes) that are required for invasion and growth of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. In this project’s Phase I research, Duraisingh’s group developed a RNAi-based approach for genetic analysis of the erythrocyte in vitro, and demonstrated that the major surface protein Glycophorin A is required for efficient invasion by some strains of P. falciparum. The group made progress in the development of a high-throughput RNAi screen, which in Phase II of the project Duraisingh hopes will identify those essential erythrocyte determinants that are most amenable to the development of host-targeted drug therapies.