Malaria in 2012 caused 627 000 deaths worldwide, with 90% of the victims of this disease - small children under 5 years of age living in Africa.

The other day the Portuguese researchers announced a major breakthrough in the study of malaria: it was found that the intestinal bacterium can strengthen the natural barriers of the immune system against malarial plasmodia.

A research team from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia research institute, led by Miguel Soares, described the results of its work on the journal Cell.

In recent years, scientists have learned a lot about the "friendly" bacteria that live in the human intestine - our natural microflora. These bacteria do not cause disease, but contribute to strengthening the immune system and protecting against infections.

Scientific studies show that some E. coli strains (Escherichia coli) that live in the intestines of healthy people can protect cells with glycans, which they synthesize in large numbers. The immune system recognizes these glycans as foreign agents and produces natural antibodies that circulate throughout the body and protect against pathogenic microorganisms.

The malarial plasmodium produces the same molecules as the E. coli.

In a recent study, Soares and his team found that a parasite that causes malaria produces the same molecule as some "friendly" strains of E. coli. This glycan is called? -gal.

When? -gal was secreted by E. coli in the intestines of mice, the concentration of natural antibodies in the blood of animals reacting to a similar substance of malarial plasmodium immediately after a mosquito bite. These anti-? -gal antibodies produced by the immune system are an important element of immune defense against parasites. Such antibodies in experiments quickly killed parasites, preventing the infection with malaria.

If an adult is bitten by a mosquito, the likelihood of contracting malaria is low. But children under the age of 5 are more susceptible to infection. Could this be due to the fact that there is little anti-? Gal antibody in their body? Scientists decided to check this out.

In young children, there is not enough anti-? -gal-antibodies.

Together with colleagues from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States and the University of Science and Technology in Bamako (Mali), Professor Soares analyzed the composition of intestinal microflora in the inhabitants of Mali, where many are infected with malaria.

It turned out that people with the lowest level of circulating anti-?-gal antibodies in the blood are most susceptible to malaria.

Researchers say that with young children the situation is the same - they may be more susceptible to this infection due to insufficiently high levels of antibodies.

Scientists came to the idea of ??creating a unique vaccine that contains synthetic anti-?-gal antibodies. They have already tested this vaccine in mice and saw that it protects rodents from malarial plasmodia rather well. The team hopes that the vaccine will be just as effective in humans.

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