Репозиторий Университета

Background: Malaria is a disease annually causing over 400,000 deaths. Deep understanding of molecular and genetic processes underlying its life cycle and pathogenicity is required to efficiently resist it. RNA interference is a mechanism of the gene expression regulation typical for a wide variety of species. Even though the existence of this phenomenon in Plasmodium falciparum has long been rejected, several recent works pose hypotheses and provide direct and indirect evidence of the existence of mechanisms similar to RNA interference in this organism. In particular, the possibility of regulation of P. falciparum gene expression through human microRNAs is of great importance both for fundamental biology and for medicine. In the present work we address the problem of possibility of the existence in the P. falciparum genome of the nucleotide sequences such that mRNAs transcribed from genes containing these sequences could form duplexes with human microRNAs. Using bioinformatics methods we have analysed genomes of 15 P. falciparum isolates for sequences homological to these microRNAs. Results: The analysis has demonstrated the existence of a vast number of genes that could potentially be regulated by the human microRNAs in the plasmodial genome. Conclusions: Despite the fact that the numbers of homological intervals vary significantly between isolates, the hsa-miR-451a and hsa-miR-223-3p microRNAs are expected to make the most notable contribution to the pathogenesis of P. falciparum malaria. The majority of homological intervals occur in genes encoding cell adhesion proteins.

© 2018 The Author(s). Presently, many malaria-endemic countries in the world are transitioning towards malaria elimination. Out of the 105 countries with ongoing malaria transmission, 10 countries are classified as being in the pre-elimination phase of malaria control, and 9 countries are in the malaria elimination stage, whereas 7 countries are classified as being in the prevention of introduction phase. Between 2000 and 2015, 17 countries eliminated malaria (i.e., attained zero indigenous cases for 3 years or more). Seven countries were certified by the WHO as having successfully eliminated malaria. The purpose of this review was to analyse the epidemiological characteristics of vivax malaria during the various stages of malaria eradication (elimination) programmes in different countries in the past and present. Experiences of the republics of the former USSR with malaria are interesting, particularly since the data overwhelmingly were published in Russian and might not be known to western readers. Among the most important characteristics of Plasmodium vivax epidemiology at present are changes in the ratio of the short-incubation P. vivax to long-incubation P. vivax, the incidence of severe P. vivax cases, the increased numbers of asymptomatic P. vivax cases, the reduced response to anti-malarials and a few others. Various factors contributing towards the peculiarities of P. vivax epidemiology are discussed.