Studies of the Interaction of Human Malaria Parasites with the Metabolism of the Host Red Cell.

摘要

The purpose of the project was to try to determine if variation in host red cell metabolism could influence malaria severity, and whether information obtained could be used in developing new treatments. During the tenure of this contract, a number of studies of the interaction of malaria and red cell metabolism were carried out. This included in vitro interactions in a cultivation system, discussed in Section A, the relationship of the red cell ATP levels of ethnic groups to natural selection by malaria, (Section B), the relationship of the severity of malaria in rhesus monkeys to their red cell ATP levels (Section D), and the pronounced decrease in red cell ATP levels that occurs under some conditions in rodent malaries (Section D). A related study to this general theme was the development of a treatment of malaria involving hyperoxia which was effective in suppressing P vinckei in rats, but not P. berghei.