Malaria infections: what and how can mice teach us.
Malaria imposes a horrific public health burden - hundreds of millions of infections and millions of deaths - on large parts of the world. While this unacceptable health burden and its economic and social impact have made it a focal point of the international development agenda, it became consensual that malaria control or elimination will be difficult to attain prior to gain a better understanding of the complex interactions occurring between its main players: Plasmodium, the causative agent of disease, and its hosts. Practical and ethical limitations exist regarding the ability to carry out research with human subjects or with human samples. In this review, we highlight how rodent models of infection have contributed significantly during the past decades to a better understanding of the basic biology of the parasite, host response and pathogenesis.
Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal.
Vanessa
V
Zuzarte-Luis
Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal. Electronic address: mmota@fm.ul.pt.
Maria M
MM
Mota
Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal; Unidade de Ciências Médicas, Centro de Competência de Ciências da Vida, Universidade da Madeira, Funchal, Portugal. Electronic address: avigario@fm.ul.pt.
Ana M
AM
Vigário
D000818:Animals; D001675:Bioethics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D051379:Mice; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
Host; Infection; Malaria; Pathology; Plasmodium; Rodent models