Beyond Blood Smears: Qualification of Plasmodium 18S rRNA as a Biomarker for Controlled Human Malaria Infections.

ABSTRACT: 18S rRNA is a biomarker that provides an alternative to thick blood smears in controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) trials. We reviewed data from CHMI trials at non-endemic sites that used blood smears and Plasmodium 18S rRNA/rDNA biomarker nucleic acid tests (NATs) for time to positivity. We validated a multiplex quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for Plasmodium 18S rRNA, prospectively compared blood smears and qRT-PCR for three trials, and modeled treatment effects at different biomarker-defined parasite densities to assess the impact on infection detection, symptom reduction, and measured intervention efficacy. Literature review demonstrated accelerated NAT-based infection detection compared with blood smears (mean acceleration: 3.2-

SUBMITTER: Seilie AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6553913 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature