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Frevert and Margaret Shear
A synthetic version of the protein PD-L2 can treat malaria in mice and protect them from re-infection, according to researchers.
The team’s experiments indicated that PD-L2 determines the severity of malaria infection and is essential for CD4+ T-cell immunity against malaria.
When the researchers administered soluble multimeric PD-L2 to mice, the animals were cured of severe malaria and protected from re-infection months later.
Michelle Wykes, DPhil, of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Herston, Queensland, Australia, and her colleagues reported these results in Immunity.
The researchers noted that Plasmodium parasites exploit the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 to prevent T cells from fighting malaria, but the role of PD-L2 has not been clear.
With this study, the team found that PD-L2 regulates the PD-1—PD-L1 interaction and might therefore be used to treat malaria.
“We found that, when humans and mice are infected with severe malaria, levels of PD-L2 decrease, and so the T cells aren’t being told to keep fighting the parasites,” Dr Wykes explained.
“We don’t know how malaria manages to block the production of PD-L2. But once we knew how important this protein was for fighting the disease, we developed a synthetic version of it in the laboratory.”
The researchers gave 3 doses of this synthetic PD-L2 to mice that had been infected with a lethal dose of malaria.
“All of these mice were cured of the malaria,” Dr Wykes said. “About 5 months later, we re-infected the same mice with malaria parasites, but, this time, we didn’t give them any more of the synthetic protein. All of the mice were completely protected and didn’t become infected.”
Dr Wykes said these findings could form the basis for new ways to treat malaria in the future.
“[I]f this approach is successful, it should treat all species of malaria parasite,” she noted. “This would be a completely new way of treating malaria—by stimulating a person’s own immune system to destroy the parasites.” 
Image courtesy of Ute
Frevert and Margaret Shear
A synthetic version of the protein PD-L2 can treat malaria in mice and protect them from re-infection, according to researchers.
The team’s experiments indicated that PD-L2 determines the severity of malaria infection and is essential for CD4+ T-cell immunity against malaria.
When the researchers administered soluble multimeric PD-L2 to mice, the animals were cured of severe malaria and protected from re-infection months later.
Michelle Wykes, DPhil, of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Herston, Queensland, Australia, and her colleagues reported these results in Immunity.
The researchers noted that Plasmodium parasites exploit the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 to prevent T cells from fighting malaria, but the role of PD-L2 has not been clear.
With this study, the team found that PD-L2 regulates the PD-1—PD-L1 interaction and might therefore be used to treat malaria.
“We found that, when humans and mice are infected with severe malaria, levels of PD-L2 decrease, and so the T cells aren’t being told to keep fighting the parasites,” Dr Wykes explained.
“We don’t know how malaria manages to block the production of PD-L2. But once we knew how important this protein was for fighting the disease, we developed a synthetic version of it in the laboratory.”
The researchers gave 3 doses of this synthetic PD-L2 to mice that had been infected with a lethal dose of malaria.
“All of these mice were cured of the malaria,” Dr Wykes said. “About 5 months later, we re-infected the same mice with malaria parasites, but, this time, we didn’t give them any more of the synthetic protein. All of the mice were completely protected and didn’t become infected.”
Dr Wykes said these findings could form the basis for new ways to treat malaria in the future.
“[I]f this approach is successful, it should treat all species of malaria parasite,” she noted. “This would be a completely new way of treating malaria—by stimulating a person’s own immune system to destroy the parasites.”
Image courtesy of Ute
Frevert and Margaret Shear
A synthetic version of the protein PD-L2 can treat malaria in mice and protect them from re-infection, according to researchers.
The team’s experiments indicated that PD-L2 determines the severity of malaria infection and is essential for CD4+ T-cell immunity against malaria.
When the researchers administered soluble multimeric PD-L2 to mice, the animals were cured of severe malaria and protected from re-infection months later.
Michelle Wykes, DPhil, of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Herston, Queensland, Australia, and her colleagues reported these results in Immunity.
The researchers noted that Plasmodium parasites exploit the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 to prevent T cells from fighting malaria, but the role of PD-L2 has not been clear.
With this study, the team found that PD-L2 regulates the PD-1—PD-L1 interaction and might therefore be used to treat malaria.
“We found that, when humans and mice are infected with severe malaria, levels of PD-L2 decrease, and so the T cells aren’t being told to keep fighting the parasites,” Dr Wykes explained.
“We don’t know how malaria manages to block the production of PD-L2. But once we knew how important this protein was for fighting the disease, we developed a synthetic version of it in the laboratory.”
The researchers gave 3 doses of this synthetic PD-L2 to mice that had been infected with a lethal dose of malaria.
“All of these mice were cured of the malaria,” Dr Wykes said. “About 5 months later, we re-infected the same mice with malaria parasites, but, this time, we didn’t give them any more of the synthetic protein. All of the mice were completely protected and didn’t become infected.”
Dr Wykes said these findings could form the basis for new ways to treat malaria in the future.
“[I]f this approach is successful, it should treat all species of malaria parasite,” she noted. “This would be a completely new way of treating malaria—by stimulating a person’s own immune system to destroy the parasites.”