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Malaria caused by Plasmodium parasites is a life-threatening infectious disease that kills at least half a million people annually while causing over 200 million new infections.
Common complications are: cerebral malaria, respiratory distress and severe anemia, often leading to death. The majority of patients recover from disease, however, there is increasing evidence to suggest that survivors experience long-term ‘hidden’ pathologies due to infection.
Now, the Laboratory of Malaria Immunology Team at the Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC), Osaka University, headed by Professor Cevayir COBAN, have used mouse malaria models to show that robust immune activation and invasion of parasite by-products into the bone marrow during and after malaria infection leads to an adverse balance in bone homeostasis.
Researchers discovered that Plasmodium products continuously accumulate in the bone marrow niche which turns the bone noticeably black in color, and results in it being “eaten-up” by bone resorbing cells known as osteoclasts, eventually disrupting bone homeostasis.
Side effects of malaria infection on bone can be reversed by taking oral supplementation with alfacalcidol, a vitamin D3 analog, could completely prevent bone loss. Anti-malarial drugs combined with bone therapy may be beneficial in improving bone health in malaria-infected individuals.
