Malaria Stopped by a Human Protein Therapeutic

Robert H. Broyles of The Sickle Cell Cure Foundation, Inc. in the U.S. will build on the recent discovery that elevated fetal hemoglobin (HbF), which alleviates sickle cell disease, can also confer malaria resistance. Broyles will test the ability of a stable human protein to reactivate a silent gene that encodes for HbF, makings red blood cells inhospitable to malaria parasites. If successful, the idea is to target the therapy in the host to reduce malaria infections.