Characterization of adapted P. falciparum isolates aiming to evaluate new compounds against sexual and asexual stages of the parasite's life cycle.

• Grant number: 24/00143-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Anna Caroline Campos Aguiar
• Grantee: Ana Cristina Longuini
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/19708-0 - Identification of new antimalarial compounds: a multidisciplinary strategy aimed to search for potent chemical classes against new molecular targets and different stages of life of Plasmodium spp, AP.JP

Abstract

Malaria, a disease caused by protozoa of the genus Plasmodium spp., is one of the major public health problems worldwide. P. falciparum is the predominant parasite in sub-Saharan Africa, where high mortality rates are associated with the disease. The emergence and spread of multi-resistant P. falciparum underscore the need for objective measures to assess the susceptibility of circulating isolates to antimalarials, as well as the search for new active compounds. Several culture strains are available for evaluating new compounds. However, these parasites have been adapted for many years, necessitating the evaluation of new compound activity against currently circulating strains. In this regard, four isolates of P. falciparum have recently been adapted to culture and will be characterized in this project, aiming to provide these isolates for sensitivity tests to new antimalarials. The isolates were obtained in Porto Velho, RO, from patients recruited at the Center for Tropical Medicine in collaboration with Dr. Dhelio Batista (Ethics Committee CAAE 58738416.1.0000.0011). The susceptibility of isolates to the antimalarials chloroquine, mefloquine, amodiaquine, proguanil, pyrimethamine, and lumefantrine will be assessed by the SYBR Green I method. Susceptibility to artemisinin derivatives will be evaluated by the ring survival assay (RSA). Additionally, the ability of the isolates to produce gametocytes will also be assessed in vitro culture. This experiment will be important as it will enable the evaluation of compounds against sexual stages using Brazilian isolates.