We have just published in iScience (Volume 29, Issue 11) that peripheral serotonin could be a new treatment avenue for cerebral malaria, a devastating complication of Plasmodium falciparum infections.

This research led by Assoc. Prof. Roberta Spaccapelo, Assoc. Prof. Teresa Zelante, together with industry partner TES Pharma Srl, and other colleagues from University of Perugia, showed that peripheral serotonin has a role in cerebral malaria. Using pre-clinical models, the absence of peripheral serotonin during cerebral malaria led to prolonged survival and preserved blood-brain barrier integrity compared with wild-type mice producing normal levels of peripheral serotonin. On an immunological level, peripheral serotonin-deficient mice showed a mark increase of inflammation, IL-18 and CD8+ T cell expansion without further disease exacerbation. The authors also show that using Telotristat,w a serotonin inhibitor that is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier, had the same protective effect against cerebral malaria.

These findings thus show that targeting peripheral serotonin could be a potential therapeutic option for cerebral malaria while avoiding central nervous system-associated side effects.

Alicia YW Wong also made the accompanying video abstract that summarizes this work in a 4 minutes.

Congratulations to all authors involved!