Overview

Plasmodium is the causative agent of malaria, the most deadly parasitic infection worldwide. Pathogenesis of the disease involves an exacerbated immunological response; however, the role of parasite components remains largely unexplored. The current study was designed to assess the contribution of hemozoin (HZ), a metabolic product of Plasmodium, to the inflammatory events associated to malaria. HZ was found to induce various macrophage functions (e.g. chemokine and nitric oxide production) through specific signaling pathways. Importantly, the proinflammatory activity of HZ was demonstrated in vivo (e.g. leukocytosis, chemokine and cytokine release) using a murine model. These findings support the idea that HZ participates in inflammatory mediator overproduction during malaria and therefore, it could be a key component in the development of the disease. HZ might emerge as an attractive target to design new therapeutic approaches against malaria to prevent millions of deaths. This book should be especially useful to graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the molecular and cellular basis of malaria pathogenesis.

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9783639136333

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