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Editorial – Molecular Approaches to Malaria 2012 (MAM 2012)
International Journal for Parasitology 42 (2012) 517
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal for Parasitology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpara
Editorial
Editorial – Molecular Approaches to Malaria 2012 (MAM 2012) International conferences are an integral part of any program or field of research. They provide a forum to share and develop new ideas, explore the state-of-the-art in technology, build new collaborations and hear the latest in breakthrough research. Indeed, many of us find our context by placing our own work in relation to what is presented at these global get-togethers. They are the barometers of scientific progress and, in a field like that of malaria parasite research, they give us a view of progress towards goals such as a malaria vaccine or new frontline drugs to control this devastating disease. Although the calendar of conferences is often very full, for many within the malaria research community the Molecular Approaches to Malaria (MAM) conferences are an event not to be missed. Taking place every 4 years, the MAM forum has developed into more than just another addition to the list of annual meetings but is instead a rare opportunity to gain perspective on how malaria research has progressed, to gauge the paradigm shifts that define our field and, by seeing the leaps in progress that have occurred during the last 4 years, to gain a glimpse of where we might be in a further 4 years. In February 2012, more than 400 researchers from every continent, representing 29 countries and every facet of malaria research came together in Lorne, Victoria, Australia, for an intensive week of discussions on the state of malaria parasite molecular and cellular research. This special edition of the International Journal for Parasitology, dedicated to the MAM 2012 conference, gives a taste of some of the rich gleanings from this, the fourth MAM instalment. Perhaps more than any previous conference, the meeting was notable in its presentation of parasite biology expanded across the lifecycle. In addition, a plethora of new drug targets and powerful drug development strategies were prevalent along with an intensive focus on vaccine development, host responses to infection and dramatic advances in imaging technologies. This special edition includes invited reviews on parasite colonisation of the mosquito midgut (Angrisano et al., 2012), the power of genetic crosses (Ranford-Cartwright and Mwangi, 2012), an expanding understanding of host responses to parasite infection (Offeddu et al., 2012; Freitas do Rosario and Langhorne, 2012; Liehl and Mota, 2012) and advanced models for the process of erythrocyte recognition and invasion (Harvey et al., 2012; Bei and Duraisingh, 2012). It also includes an opinion piece on the potential role of dendritic cells as Trojan horses of infection (Wykes and HorneDebets, 2012), as well as two original research articles exploring the effect of parasite clonality on Anopheles infection (Nsango et al., 2012) and the structural basis of subtilisin-mediated parasite egress (Withers-Martinez et al., 2012).
Looking forward, the tools and detailed understanding of malaria parasite biology presented at MAM 2012 and highlighted in this issue, provide a powerful demonstration that malaria parasite research has firmly arrived at a comparable level to that of advanced eukaryotic cellular systems. With new tools and understanding comes a renewed optimism for the future of drug discovery, vaccine research, vector control and its application to malaria parasites in the laboratory, disease in the clinic and detailed epidemiology in the field. References Angrisano, A., Tan, Y-H., Sturm, A., McFadden, G.I., Baum, J., 2012. Malaria parasite colonisation of the mosquito midgut – placing 1 the Plasmodium ookinete centre stage. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 519–527. Bei, A.K., Duraisingh, M.T., 2012. Functional analysis of erythrocyte determinants of Plasmodium infection. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 575–582. Freitas do Rosario, A.P., Langhorne, J., 2012. T cell-derived IL-10 and its impact on the regulation of host responses during malaria. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 549–555. Harvey, K.L., Gilsona, P.R., Crabb, B.S., 2012. A model for the progression of receptor– ligand interactions during erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium falciparum. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 567–573. Liehl, P., Mota, M.M., 2012. Innate recognition of malarial parasites by mammalian hosts. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 557–566. Nsango, S.E., Abate, L., Thoma, M., Pompon, J., Fraiture, M., Rademacher, A., Berry, A., Awono-Ambene, P.H., Levashina, E.A., Morlais, I., 2012. Genetic clonality ofPlasmodium falciparum 1 affects the outcome of infection in Anopheles gambiae. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 589–595. Offeddu, V., Thathy, V., Marsh, K., Matuschewski, K., 2012. Naturally acquired immune responses against Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites and liver infection. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 535–548. Ranford-Cartwright, L.C., Mwangi, J.M., 2012. Analysis of malaria parasite phenotypes using experimental genetic crosses of Plasmodium falciparum. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 529–534. Withers-Martinez, C., Suarez, C., Fulle, S., Kher, S., Penzo, M., Ebejer, J-P., Koussis, K., Hackett, F., Jirgensons, A., Finn, P., Blackman, M.J., 2012. Plasmodium subtilisinlike protease 1 (SUB1): insights into the active-site structure, specificity and function of a pan-malaria drug target. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 597–612. Wykes, M.N., Horne-Debets, J., 2012. Dendritic cells: the Trojan horse of malaria? Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 583–587.
0020-7519/$36.00 Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.05.001
Jake Baum Conference Chair, MAM 2012 Kevin J. Saliba Conference Chair, MAM 2012 Brian M. Cooke Deputy Editor, IJP
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal for Parasitology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpara
Editorial
Editorial – Molecular Approaches to Malaria 2012 (MAM 2012) International conferences are an integral part of any program or field of research. They provide a forum to share and develop new ideas, explore the state-of-the-art in technology, build new collaborations and hear the latest in breakthrough research. Indeed, many of us find our context by placing our own work in relation to what is presented at these global get-togethers. They are the barometers of scientific progress and, in a field like that of malaria parasite research, they give us a view of progress towards goals such as a malaria vaccine or new frontline drugs to control this devastating disease. Although the calendar of conferences is often very full, for many within the malaria research community the Molecular Approaches to Malaria (MAM) conferences are an event not to be missed. Taking place every 4 years, the MAM forum has developed into more than just another addition to the list of annual meetings but is instead a rare opportunity to gain perspective on how malaria research has progressed, to gauge the paradigm shifts that define our field and, by seeing the leaps in progress that have occurred during the last 4 years, to gain a glimpse of where we might be in a further 4 years. In February 2012, more than 400 researchers from every continent, representing 29 countries and every facet of malaria research came together in Lorne, Victoria, Australia, for an intensive week of discussions on the state of malaria parasite molecular and cellular research. This special edition of the International Journal for Parasitology, dedicated to the MAM 2012 conference, gives a taste of some of the rich gleanings from this, the fourth MAM instalment. Perhaps more than any previous conference, the meeting was notable in its presentation of parasite biology expanded across the lifecycle. In addition, a plethora of new drug targets and powerful drug development strategies were prevalent along with an intensive focus on vaccine development, host responses to infection and dramatic advances in imaging technologies. This special edition includes invited reviews on parasite colonisation of the mosquito midgut (Angrisano et al., 2012), the power of genetic crosses (Ranford-Cartwright and Mwangi, 2012), an expanding understanding of host responses to parasite infection (Offeddu et al., 2012; Freitas do Rosario and Langhorne, 2012; Liehl and Mota, 2012) and advanced models for the process of erythrocyte recognition and invasion (Harvey et al., 2012; Bei and Duraisingh, 2012). It also includes an opinion piece on the potential role of dendritic cells as Trojan horses of infection (Wykes and HorneDebets, 2012), as well as two original research articles exploring the effect of parasite clonality on Anopheles infection (Nsango et al., 2012) and the structural basis of subtilisin-mediated parasite egress (Withers-Martinez et al., 2012).
Looking forward, the tools and detailed understanding of malaria parasite biology presented at MAM 2012 and highlighted in this issue, provide a powerful demonstration that malaria parasite research has firmly arrived at a comparable level to that of advanced eukaryotic cellular systems. With new tools and understanding comes a renewed optimism for the future of drug discovery, vaccine research, vector control and its application to malaria parasites in the laboratory, disease in the clinic and detailed epidemiology in the field. References Angrisano, A., Tan, Y-H., Sturm, A., McFadden, G.I., Baum, J., 2012. Malaria parasite colonisation of the mosquito midgut – placing 1 the Plasmodium ookinete centre stage. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 519–527. Bei, A.K., Duraisingh, M.T., 2012. Functional analysis of erythrocyte determinants of Plasmodium infection. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 575–582. Freitas do Rosario, A.P., Langhorne, J., 2012. T cell-derived IL-10 and its impact on the regulation of host responses during malaria. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 549–555. Harvey, K.L., Gilsona, P.R., Crabb, B.S., 2012. A model for the progression of receptor– ligand interactions during erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium falciparum. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 567–573. Liehl, P., Mota, M.M., 2012. Innate recognition of malarial parasites by mammalian hosts. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 557–566. Nsango, S.E., Abate, L., Thoma, M., Pompon, J., Fraiture, M., Rademacher, A., Berry, A., Awono-Ambene, P.H., Levashina, E.A., Morlais, I., 2012. Genetic clonality ofPlasmodium falciparum 1 affects the outcome of infection in Anopheles gambiae. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 589–595. Offeddu, V., Thathy, V., Marsh, K., Matuschewski, K., 2012. Naturally acquired immune responses against Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites and liver infection. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 535–548. Ranford-Cartwright, L.C., Mwangi, J.M., 2012. Analysis of malaria parasite phenotypes using experimental genetic crosses of Plasmodium falciparum. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 529–534. Withers-Martinez, C., Suarez, C., Fulle, S., Kher, S., Penzo, M., Ebejer, J-P., Koussis, K., Hackett, F., Jirgensons, A., Finn, P., Blackman, M.J., 2012. Plasmodium subtilisinlike protease 1 (SUB1): insights into the active-site structure, specificity and function of a pan-malaria drug target. Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 597–612. Wykes, M.N., Horne-Debets, J., 2012. Dendritic cells: the Trojan horse of malaria? Int. J. Parasitol. 42, 583–587.
0020-7519/$36.00 Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.05.001
Jake Baum Conference Chair, MAM 2012 Kevin J. Saliba Conference Chair, MAM 2012 Brian M. Cooke Deputy Editor, IJP