ANKARA

Australian researchers have for the first time visualized a key protein complex in malaria parasites, revealing a new target for next-generation vaccines that could help prevent the disease from spreading.

Using cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy, a team led by the Melbourne-based Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) captured the first detailed structure of a protein complex required for malaria parasite fertilization inside mosquitoes, the institute said in a statement released on Wednesday.

The discovery published in Science has resulted in the development of a promising new mRNA vaccine candidate that prevents the malaria parasite from reproducing inside mosquitoes, breaking the cycle of transmission before it reaches humans.

In preclinical tests, the mRNA vaccine candidate elicited high levels of antibodies that recognized the parasite, effectively blocking transmission in mosquitoes by up to 99.7%.

Malaria remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, accounting for over 600,000 deaths each year.

Malaria parasites are common in humans, but only a few reproduce within mosquitoes.

"The success of the malaria vaccine program illustrates the versatility of mRNA technology, which has many applications beyond the COVID vaccines," said Colin Pouton of the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, who co-developed the vaccine candidate.

Researchers intend to combine the mRNA transmission-blocking vaccine with vaccines targeting the parasite's blood and liver stages in humans to create a comprehensive defense aimed at significantly reducing malaria and moving toward elimination.

*Writing by Aamir Latif