Malaria's deadly secret: a skin stage.
The role skin plays in malaria infection has long been overlooked. Recent analysis, however, suggests skin-infecting sporozoites initiate rapid suppression of immunity, establishing early tolerance to subsequent lifecycle stages. This explains susceptibility to reinfection by mosquito bite, independent of blood stage-induced immunosuppression or semi-immunity. Vaccine trials corroborate skin-initiated immunosubversion due to skin-infecting forms, tightly correlating bite pre-exposure, live parasites in the skin and endemic vaccine failure. Rapidly advancing skin immunobiology and recently described parasite development in host skin further substantiate the proposed model, consolidating a new concept in parasite biology, exemplified by malaria: natural infection has a defined, potently immunosubversive skin stage, crucially affecting vaccine function and vitally relevant to eradication.
The Malaria Research Foundation, P.O. Box 10420, Aspen, Pitkin County, CO 81612, USA. lys@malariaresearchfoundation.com
D Lys
DL
Guilbride
Patrick D L
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Guilbride
Pawel
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Gawlinski
D000818:Animals; D060833:Cellular Microenvironment / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D034101:Sporozoites / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
D017780:Malaria Vaccines