A Dual, Systematic Approach to Malaria Diagnostic Biomarker Discovery.

Area of Science:

• Malariology
• Parasitology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Emergence of Plasmodium falciparum parasites lacking HRP2/3 proteins compromises HRP2-based malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs).
• Decreased utility of current RDTs necessitates novel diagnostic biomarkers for malaria detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify novel diagnostic biomarkers for uncomplicated malaria.
• To discover new antigens for next-generation malaria RDTs.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a systematic literature review on malaria diagnostic biomarkers.
• Performed a systematic in silico analysis of Plasmodium falciparum proteomics data.

Main Results:

• Identified glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase as a novel malaria diagnostic biomarker.
• Identified dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase as another novel malaria diagnostic biomarker.
• Both biomarkers are suitable for development into RDTs.

Conclusions:

• Identified two lead candidates for next-generation malaria RDTs.
• Findings de-risk product development for novel malaria diagnostics.
• Paved the way for improved malaria detection tools.