New Microscope Reveals Deadly Secret Life Of Malaria Parasites Inside Human Cells

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Tropical Diseases;  Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 19 Oct 2006 - 7:00 PDT


Scientists at Georgetown University are describing the first use of a new microscope technology to capture images of live malaria parasites inside human red blood cells. They say the advance could be important in efforts to understand the malaria parasite's deadly tendency to become resistant to anti-malaria drugs and in developing new drugs and vaccines for the disease.

Malaria kills about one million people worldwide each year. About 90 percent are in Africa and 70 percent are children under the age of five.

Georgetown University researcher Paul D. Roepe and colleagues explain that the malaria parasite's unusual biology makes it difficult to visualize these organisms while they are alive and active inside human cells. In order to overcome the limitations of existing imaging techniques, the researchers modified a spinning disk confocal microscope (SDCM).

They describe the SDCM and its initial uses in two papers scheduled for publication in the current (Oct. 17) issue of the weekly ACS journal, Biochemistry. The modified SDCM captured unprecedented images of live malaria parasites, which Roepe and colleagues publish for the first time in one of the papers.

"Spinning Disk Confocal Microscopy of Live, Intraerythrocytic Malarial Parasites. 1. Quantification of Hemozoin Development for Drug Sensitive versus Resistant Malaria"

"Spinning Disk Confocal Microscopy of Live, Intraerythrocytic Malarial Parasites. 2. Altered Vacuolar Volume Regulation in Drug Resistant Malaria"

CONTACT:
Paul D. Roepe, Ph.D.
Georgetown University
Washington, DC


####

ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- October 11, 2006

The American Chemical Society (ACS) News Service PressPac is your access point for discoveries in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology, which are reported in the 34 peer-reviewed journals of the American Chemical Society. With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society. Chemistry is the science that transforms lives, and these news alerts are from the leading edge of that science at ACS headquarters.

The American Chemical Society -- the world's largest scientific society -- is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Contact: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society

• Additional
• References
• Citations