Sea cucumber protein may hold key to malaria vaccine

A protein produced by the sea cucumber may help prevent the spread of the malaria parasite, according to new research.

The study, published in the journal PLoS Pathogens, discovered that the protein, lectin, disrupted the growth and development of the malaria parasite in the guts of mosquitoes.

Their findings also indicated that the protein may be effective on more than one of the four types of parasite that cause malaria.

Professor Bob Sinden, one of the authors of the paper, said: "These results are very promising and show that genetically engineering mosquitoes in this way has a clear impact on the parasites’ ability to multiply inside the mosquito host.

"This study is one more step along the road towards achieving that goal, not least because it has been shown that more than one species of malaria can be killed in this way."

Earlier this year, a report published in the Lancet revealed that a prototype malaria vaccine tested on Mozambique infants was both safe and effective in early trials.

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