Epigenetic inhibitors: A promising new strategy for antimalarial treatment? A recent study discovers a gene regulation inhibitor that selectively eliminates the malaria parasite.
A multinational research team, led by Professor Markus Meißner from LMU Munich and Professor Gernot Längst from the University of Regensburg, has made significant discoveries about gene regulation in Plasmodium falciparum, the primary cause of malaria. Their findings, published in Nature, provide new avenues for developing advanced therapeutic strategies.
Malaria remains a major global health challenge. In 2022 alone, an estimated 247 million people were infected, with over 600,000 deaths, the majority occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. These statistics highlight the urgent need for innovative research to drive progress in malaria prevention and treatment.
Malaria is caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the malaria
“The study underscores the importance of integrating epigenetics into malaria research. Future work will focus on testing small molecules that inhibit the parasite’s epigenetic machinery and exploring their effectiveness in preclinical models,” concludes Meißner.
Reference: “Plasmodium blood stage development requires the chromatin remodeller Snf2L” by Maria Theresia Watzlowik, Elisabeth Silberhorn, Sujaan Das, Ritwik Singhal, Kannan Venugopal, Simon Holzinger, Barbara Stokes, Ella Schadt, Lauriane Sollelis, Victoria A. Bonnell, Matthew Gow, Andreas Klingl, Matthias Marti, Manuel Llinás, Markus Meissner and Gernot Längst, 19 February 2025, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08595-x
In addition to scientists from LMU and the University of Regensburg, researchers from the University of Zurich (Switzerland), Pennsylvania State University (United States), and the