Mechanisms of antimalaria drug resistance development in Plasmodium falciparum: the role of extracellular vesicles in parasite-parasite communication

Mechanisms of antimalaria drug resistance development in Plasmodium falciparum: the role of extracellular vesicles in parasite-parasite communication

Project Lead(s)
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Associate Professor
Project Background 

The main intervention against malaria is chemotherapy, however the parasite, Plasmodium falciparum has developed resistance against most the drug including the WHO recommended artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). The mechanisms underlying the development of drug resistance in the parasites are still unclear and therefore studies are needed to deepen our understanding of the biology of the parasite. The role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the biology of malaria parasites is not yet fully understood. However, some studies have suggested that EVs may play a role in resistance development in the parasite and thus the investigation into the parasite-parasite communication. The study is answering the questions on the molecular mechanisms of antimalarial drug resistance and the role played by EVs.

Key Publications  
  1. Tandoh K. Z., Wilson M., Quashie N. B., Duah-Quashie N. O. (2021). Implicating extracellular vesicles in Plasmodium falciparum artemisinin resistance development. Traffic 22(6):194-200. doi: 10.1111/tra.12787. PMID: 33860593.
  2. Tandoh K. Z., Amenga-Etego L., Quashie N. B., Awandare G., Wilson M., Duah-Quashie N. O. (2021). Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Parasites in Ghana Show Signatures of Balancing Selection at Artemisinin Resistance Predisposing Background Genes. Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online 17:1176934321999640. doi: 10.1177/1176934321999640. eCollection 2021.
Team 
External Collaborator(s) 
Dr. Neta Regev-Rudzki, Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Israel
Dr. Mauro Muraro, Single Cell Discoveries, Netherlands
Prof. Xavier Fernandez Busquets, Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Spain
Prof. David Fidock, Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimalarial Resistance, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, USA
Funder(s) 
Building a New Generation of Academics (BANGA Africa, University of Ghana and Carnegie Corporation of New York)
WACCBIP-World Bank ACE PhD fellowship