11 May Viagra Derivatives May Block Malaria Transmission

Posted at 10:51h in Author Interviews, Infections, PLoS by

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Gordon Langsley
Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire Comparative des Apicomplexes,
Institut Cochin, INSERM U1016, CNRS UMR 8104,
Faculté de Medecine
Université Paris Descartes, Paris

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: We have been studying the role of cAMP-dependent PKA signaling in Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells for some time; see just a few examples: PMID: 25522250; PMID: 22626931; PMID: 18248092; PMID: 11559352 and we came to the conclusion that intra cellular cAMP levels regulate infected red blood cell deformability and adhesion to for example, brain endothelial cells.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Response: Drugs that manipulate (alter) cAMP levels in Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes have the potential to become one day new anti-malaria drugs and the proof of principal is the demonstration we provide for inhibitors of phosphodiesterases (PDEs) and deformability of transmissable (step V) gametocytes and their potential to block transmission of malaria.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: First, we do not propose that Viagra should be used as a transmission blocking anti-malaria drug, but rather derivatives, lacking its erectile function, could become malaria transmission blocking drugs.

We envisage in the next couple of years performing clinical trials to test the efficacy of PDE inhibitors to reduce transmission of malaria

Citation:

Ghania Ramdani, Bernina Naissant, Eloise Thompson, Florence Breil, Audrey Lorthiois, Florian Dupuy, Ross Cummings, Yoann Duffier, Yolanda Corbett, Odile Mercereau-Puijalon, Kenneth Vernick, Donatella Taramelli, David A. Baker, Gordon Langsley, Catherine Lavazec. cAMP-Signalling Regulates Gametocyte-Infected Erythrocyte Deformability Required for Malaria Parasite Transmission. PLOS Pathogens, 2015; 11 (5): e1004815 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004815

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Gordon Langsley (2015). Viagra Derivatives May Block Malaria Transmissio 

Last Updated on May 11, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

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