Enhanced transmission of malaria parasites to mosquitoes in a murine model of type 2 diabetes.
BACKGROUND
More than half of the world's population is at risk of malaria and simultaneously, many malaria-endemic regions are facing dramatic increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Studies in murine malaria models have examined the impact of malaria infection on type 2 diabetes pathology, it remains unclear how this chronic metabolic disorder impacts the transmission of malaria. In this report, the ability type 2 diabetic rodents infected with malaria to transmit parasites to Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes is quantified.


METHODS
The infection prevalence and intensity of An. stephensi mosquitoes that fed upon control or type 2 diabetic C57BL/6 db/db mice infected with either lethal Plasmodium berghei NK65 or non-lethal Plasmodium yoelii 17XNL murine malaria strains were determined. Daily parasitaemias were also recorded.


RESULTS
A higher percentage of mosquitoes (87.5 vs 61.5 % for P. yoelii and 76.9 vs 50 % for P. berghei) became infected following blood feeding on Plasmodium-infected type 2 diabetic mice compared to mosquitoes that fed on infected control animals, despite no significant differences in circulating gametocyte levels.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that type 2 diabetic mice infected with malaria are more efficient at infecting mosquitoes, raising the question of whether a similar synergy exists in humans.
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA. nazzy.pakpour@csueastbay.edu.|Department of Biological Sciences, California State University East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., Hayward, CA, 94542, USA. nazzy.pakpour@csueastbay.edu.
Nazzy
N
Pakpour
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Kong Wai
KW
Cheung
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Shirley
S
Luckhart
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000469:parasitology*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000502:physiology*; D010967:Plasmodium yoelii / Q000502:physiology*
Anopheles; Malaria; Mosquito; Plasmodium berghei; Plasmodium yoelii; Type 2 diabetes