Protection from malaria infection using liver-targeted siRNA.

ABSTRACT: Malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites infect the liver and undergo obligate and asymptomatic replication in hepatocytes prior to infection of the blood. As such, preventing liver infection will prevent blood infection, thereby prevent malaria disease, and the spread of parasites by mosquitoes. The tetraspanin CD81 is expressed on the hepatocyte plasma membrane and is a critical entry receptor for sporozoites of the major human parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Yet, the importance of this molecule has not been effectively exploited for malaria prevention. RNA interference (RNAi) is a clinically proven technology for the silencing of human disease-related genes and may thus represent a promising avenue for malaria prevention. Here, we report the application of CD81-targeted, N-ace

SUBMITTER: Steel RWJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12269589 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature