What are Hypnozoites?
Hypnozoites are dormant malaria parasites that reside in the liver. They can become active again after a period of time and cause new blood infections without requiring another bite from an infected mosquito.
Why this research project?
The dormant state and reactivation of hypnozoites has remained an unsolved biological mystery for decades. These dormant parasites pose a major obstacle to completely curing malaria. Hypnozoites are difficult to study: the challenge lies in tracking their development in living organisms and understanding the biology of these rare, inconspicuous parasites that normally reside in the host's liver.
The solution
The research team wants to investigate hypnozoites through multidisciplinary research. This research is only possible by combining resources and complementary expertise from three leading laboratories in:
- Radiopharmaceutical chemistry: For developing special PET tracers (Positron Emission Tomography) to examine the parasites in the body without surgery and to capture infected tissue samples for system-level research.
- Systems biology: For simultaneously analysing multiple biological aspects of both the parasite and the host cell, down to the level of individual cells and their spatial context, confirmed by parasitological tests.
- Parasitology: For functional research through genetic modifications and manipulation of the parasites in the laboratory and validation in the natural host.
