11 October 2017 (Wednesday) - Malaria

The nice people at Wiley sent me a link to a malaria journal today. Bearing in mind I’m typing this up having just confirmed a case of malaria I found this particularly relevant.

Commentaries

Article Category
COMMENTARIES

Malaria, metabolism and mathematical models

Authors
Rita Gemayel
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2553–2555
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14161
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Understanding the dynamic behaviour of thePlasmodium falciparum metabolism during infection can help identify targets for drug development. In this Commentary, we highlight recently published studies in The FEBS Journal that cover mathematical modelling of glycolysis in P. falciparum and the identification and in vivo validation of metabolic drug targets.
 Free

Review Articles

Article Category
REVIEW ARTICLES

Vaccines against malaria—still a long way to go

Authors
Kai Matuschewski
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2560–2568
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14107
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Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites and remains the most important mosquito‐borne infectious disease. In this review, recent opportunities and persistent challenges for evidence‐based malaria vaccine design are discussed. A better understanding of Plasmodiumcell biology and immunology is essential to transform malaria into a vaccine‐preventable disease.
 Free
Article Category
REVIEW ARTICLES

Combating multidrug‐resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Authors
Aung Myint Thu, Aung Pyae Phyo, Jordi Landier, Daniel M. Parker, François H. Nosten
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2569–2578
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14127
image
Combating the spread of drug‐resistantPlasmodium falciparum requires a comprehensive approach. Modern information technology provides the means to detect, enumerate, map and monitor cases of malaria resistance and the foci of transmission. Early detection and treatment of clinical cases, detection of submicroscopic reservoirs and adapted vector control are the three pillars of a successful elimination.
 Open Access
Article Category
REVIEW ARTICLES

Oxidative stress in malaria and artemisinin combination therapy: Pros and Cons

Authors
Reginald A. Kavishe, Jan B. Koenderink, Michael Alifrangis
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2579–2591
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14097
image
Malaria is characterized with oxidative stress derived from both the parasite's metabolism and the host immune response. Some antimalarial drugs increase oxidative stress. While oxidative stress can help eliminate parasites, it can also exacerbate the pathology. This article reviews oxidative stress in view of the current artemisinin‐based combination therapies in malaria.
 Free
Article Category
REVIEW ARTICLES

Unraveling the importance of the malaria parasite helicases

Authors
Renu Tuteja
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2592–2603
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14109
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Plasmodium falciparum contains nearly 5400 genes and a multistage life cycle in humans and mosquitoes. Helicases are ATP‐dependent nucleic acid unwinding enzymes. The P. falciparum genome analysis depicts that it contains some parasite‐specific helicases and homologs to most of the human helicases. Here, an overview of P. falciparum helicases and their importance in parasite growth and survival is presented.
 Free
Article Category
REVIEW ARTICLES

Proteases as antimalarial targets: strategies for genetic, chemical, and therapeutic validation

Authors
Edgar Deu
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2604–2628
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14130
image
Proteases play a variety of biological functions in the malaria parasite. These include core biological processes such as protein homeostasis and traffic, but also parasite‐specific functions (haemoglobin degradation, parasite egress, red blood cell invasion). This review provides an overview about the role of proteases in parasite development and outlines chemical and genetic strategies to validate proteases as therapeutic targets.
 Open Access

Original Articles

Article Category
ORIGINAL ARTICLES

[Fe–S] cluster assembly in the apicoplast and its indispensability in mosquito stages of the malaria parasite

Authors
Manish Charan, Hadi Hasan Choudhary, Nidhi Singh, Mohammad Sadik, Mohammad Imran Siddiqi, Satish Mishra, Saman Habib
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2629–2648
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14159
image
The sulfur mobilization (SUF) pathway of iron–sulfur [Fe–S] cluster assembly in the apicoplast of the malaria parasite has been delineated in this study. [4Fe–4S] clusters assembled on the SufBC2D complex are transferred to targets via either NfU or SufA. Conditional knockout of SufS, the first enzyme of the pathway, demonstrates its essentiality in sporozoite development in the mosquito, providing support for SUF as a potential intervention site.
Article Category
ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Lipid interactions modulate the structural and antigenic properties of the C‐terminal domain of the malaria antigen merozoite surface protein 2

Authors
Sreedam C. Das, Rodrigo A.V. Morales, Jeffrey Seow, Bankala Krishnarjuna, Ravindu Dissanayake, Robin F. Anders, Christopher A. MacRaild, Raymond S. Norton
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2649–2662
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14135
image
MSP2 from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum induces a protective immune response. Tethering the conserved C‐terminal region (MSP2172–221) to liposomes induced an antigenic state that was more similar to the parasite antigen. Lipid‐conjugated MSP2 may represent a useful vaccine formulation.
Article Category
ORIGINAL ARTICLES

A widened substrate selectivity filter of eukaryotic formate‐nitrite transporters enables high‐level lactate conductance

Authors
Marie Wiechert, Holger Erler, André Golldack, Eric Beitz
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2663–2673
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14117
image
Formate‐nitrite transporters (FNT) contain a substrate selectivity filter based on a lysine in a hydrophobic environment (Φ/K). It is reminiscent of the aquaporin aromatic/arginine region regarding composition, function, and location within the protein. Eukaryotic FNTs conduct lactate due to a funnel‐shaped vestibule and a wide selectivity filter, whereas prokaryotic FNTs select for smaller substrates, mainly formate, nitrite, hydrosulfide, and acetate.
Article Category
ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Identification and characterization of ARS‐like sequences as putative origin(s) of replication in human malaria parasitePlasmodium falciparum

Authors
Meetu Agarwal, Krishanu Bhowmick, Kushal Shah, Annangarachari Krishnamachari, Suman Kumar Dhar
First Published:
Vol:
284,
Pages:
2674–2695
DOI:
10.1111/febs.14150
image
The eukaryotic genome replicates from multiple sites called origins. The genomic organization of these sites has been elusive in higher eukaryotes as well as in protozoan parasites. Here, we have identified and characterized the origins inPlasmodium falciparum by bioinformatic analysis and an experimental approach. An autocorrelation method was used to search for regions showing marked fluctuation or dips that may contain potential replication initiation sites. Finally the results of autocorrelation were verified experimentally.

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