Malaria in Pregnancy: a Study of Plasmodium vivax Infections on Pregnant Women from the Westernmost Region of the Brazilian Amazon

• Grant number: 11/20921-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): February 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): January 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Cláudio Romero Farias Marinho
• Grantee: Ricardo Tenreiro Estiveira de Ataide
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 09/53889-0 - Study of the immunopathological mechanisms involved in pregnancy-associated malaria, AP.JP

Abstract

Every year about 50 million pregnant women are exposed to malaria This leads to an increased health risk to both the mothers and the developing fetuses. Malaria in Pregnancy (MiP) is caracterised by the sequestration of parasites in the placenta, by an increase in maternal anaemia, intra-uterine gowth restriction and diminished foetal viability. Plasmodium vivax is the dominant malaria species outside África, being responsible for between 25 to 40% of the world's malaria cases. In Brazil, where infections by Pv are predominant, about 95% of the cases are found in Amazônia Legal where 500 thousand new cases are recorded every year. Despite its high prevalence and its possible association with important pregnancy complications, the effects of Pv infections during pregnancy, and its pathological signatures are still not fully understood. This project aims at studying the placental histopathological changes associated with Pv infections in pregnant womem from the municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul (Acre), as well as to understand some of the possible pathological mechanisms involved. The knowledge obtained with this study will provide an important contribution for the MiP field. More importantly, this work will enable new studies aimed at developing new strategies and methodologies for the treatment of MiP in Brazil.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ATAIDE, RICARDO; MURILLO, OSCAR; DOMBROWSKI, JAMILLE G.; SOUZA, RODRIGO M.; LIMA, FLAVIA A.; LIMA, GISELLE F. M. C.; HRISTOV, ANGELICA D.; VALLE, SUIANE C. N.; DI SANTI, SILVIA M.; EPIPHANIO, SABRINA; et al. Malaria in Pregnancy Interacts with and Alters the Angiogenic Profiles of the Placenta. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 9, n. 6, JUN 2015. (12/04755-3, 09/53256-7, 09/53889-0, 11/20921-8)

SOUZA, RODRIGO M.; ATAIDE, RICARDO; DOMBROWSKI, JAMILLE G.; IPPOLITO, VANESSA; AITKEN, ELIZABETH H.; VALLE, SUIANE N.; ALVAREZ, JOSE M.; EPIPHANIO, SABRINA; MARINHO, CLAUDIO R. F.. Placental Histopathological Changes Associated with Plasmodium vivax Infection during Pregnancy. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 7, n. 2, FEB 2013. (09/53256-7, 11/19525-0, 11/20921-8)