A 3D Clinostat-Based Bioreactor Model of Liver-Stage Plasmodium falciparum and its Applications in Parasite Biochemistry and Anti-Malarial Drug Discovery

Janine Aucamp of North-West University in South Africa will produce a novel drug screening platform for malaria by building a physiologically-relevant in vitro tissue model of the sinusoidal space of the human liver, which supports the development of liver-stage malaria parasites (sporozoites). Artemisinin-based combination therapies are first-line treatments for malaria but their efficacy suffers from the development of resistance, thus alternative approaches are needed. One approach is to block parasite development in the liver, which can prevent the establishment and symptomatic onset of malaria. They will build three different three-dimensional micro-bioreactor liver models and evaluate how well they can be infected by Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites compared to two-dimensional cultures. They will then test the value of the most promising model for identifying anti-malarial drugs first using two approved drugs and subsequently by screening novel drugs.