Funding outcome

Malaria infects millions of people every year worldwide, and with the increase in immigration and travellers in North America, the prevalence in Canada is increasing. Caused most severely by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, pregnant women and children are especially susceptible to infection and the life-threatening complications that accompany it. A specific subset of malaria called pregnancy-associated malaria occurs when the parasite infects maternal erythrocytes (red blood cells) and then travels to and infects the placenta. Binding and adhesion of the infected erythrocytes to the placenta is mediated by a protein called VAR2CSA. As the main virulence factor in pregnancy-associated malaria, VAR2CSA is a widely accepted vaccine candidate against this disease. However, knockout of VAR2CSA doesn't inhibit total binding of infected erythrocytes to the placenta, indicating that there are still other proteins involved in the process. Our research focuses on identifying other proteins that are co-expressed and upregulated with VAR2CSA during placental infection in an attempt to uncover other potential therapeutic targets. Here we propose to utilize high-throughput RNA sequencing and advanced bioinformatics in a comparative approach between P.falciparum infected erythrocytes and non-placental bound P. falciparum infected erythrocytes to identify candidate genes involved in VAR2CSA mediated placental infection. Identification of these proteins could be crucial in developing an efficient multivalent vaccine against pregnancy associated malaria and help women and children across the globe.