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18 February 2026 Malaria is hindered by repression of a cell-cycle protein A genetic variant that quashes cyclin D3 expression might have been selected for in a population on an island where malaria was once endemic. By Gavin Band 0 Gavin Band Gavin Band is at the Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK. View author publications PubMed Google Scholar
Why are some people resistant to illness caused by malaria parasites? This question has been of interest to scientists since the 1940s, when a group of inherited blood disorders known as haemoglobinopathies was first suggested to protect against malaria. Since then, several genetic variants that underlie this protection have been found. Writing in Nature, Marini et al.1 identify a possible addition to this set of variants — one that affects the expression of the cell-cycle protein cyclin D3 and reduces the ability of the malaria parasite to grow in red blood cells. Interestingly, this genetic variant is common in a population from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, suggesting that it has been positively selected for by historical malaria transmission.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00289-2
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Competing Interests The author declares no competing interests.
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