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Important element in fight against sleeping sickness found

Date:
November 24, 2014
Source:
Aarhus University
Summary:
Researchers have now uncovered how parasites that cause the deadly sleeping sickness in Africa absorb an important nutrient from the human blood stream. The result may help the development of more effective drugs to fight the disease.
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Researchers from Aarhus University have taken an important step in the fight against sleeping sickness, a disease that is a major problem in parts of Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease threatens approximately 60 million people and the treatment options are poor.

The deadly disease is caused by a parasite that is transferred to people via the bite of the African tsetse fly. The parasite lives in the bloodstream where it absorbs haemoglobin from human red blood cells. However, if left untreated it can infect the central nervous system and cause a coma-like state. Haemoglobin is important for the parasite as it contains what are known as 'haem groups', which it cannot produce itself. The researchers have now discovered precisely how the parasite finds this crucial haemoglobin in humans. With the new knowledge it will be possible to develop targeted treatments and fight the disease much more effectively.

The results have recently been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Desperate need for better treatment

The new knowledge makes it possible to improve the treatment of sleeping sickness.

"The drugs currently being used are not very effective and have many side-effects. The treatment is particularly difficult once the parasite has infected the central nervous system. At this point, as many as five per cent of the patients die from the side effects. Our discovery certainly provides new perspectives for a more effective treatment with fewer side effects, something that is very much needed," says Associate Professor Christian Brix Folsted Andersen from Aarhus University, who is one of researchers behind the study.

Sleeping sickness parasite recognises haemoglobin

The researchers have mapped how the parasite recognises the haemoglobin it requires in order to survive.

"The parasite has developed a mechanism so that it can directly recognise haemoglobin. It does this via a receptor on the cell, that's to say a molecule, which binds very strongly to the haemoglobin. We have now uncovered precisely how the receptor binds to the haemoglobin," explains postdoc Kristian Stødkilde-Jørgensen from Aarhus University, who has also participated in the study.

This knowledge can be utilised in the development of new medicines.

"Now that we know how the receptor interacts with the haemoglobin we have the possibility to develop targeted medicines. For example, an artificial haemoglobin coupled to a toxin that will kill the parasite. Or a compound that blocks the interaction between receptor and haemoglobin so that the parasite cannot absorb haemoglobin" says Christian Brix Folsted Andersen.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Aarhus University. Original written by Mette Louise Ohana. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Kristian Stødkilde, Morten Torvund-Jensen, Søren K. Moestrup, Christian B. F. Andersen. Structural basis for trypanosomal haem acquisition and susceptibility to the host innate immune system. Nature Communications, 2014; 5: 5487 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6487

Cite This Page:

Aarhus University. "Important element in fight against sleeping sickness found." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 November 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141124125440.htm>.
Aarhus University. (2014, November 24). Important element in fight against sleeping sickness found. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141124125440.htm
Aarhus University. "Important element in fight against sleeping sickness found." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141124125440.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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