In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 8, No. 1 ( 2018-01-18)
Abstract:
Malaria, caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium , leads to over half a million deaths per year, 90% of which are caused by Plasmodium falciparum . P . vivax usually causes milder forms of malaria; however, P . vivax can remain dormant in the livers of infected patients for weeks or years before re-emerging in a new bout of the disease. The only drugs available that target all stages of the parasite can lead to severe side effects in patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency; hence, there is an urgent need to develop new drugs active against blood and liver stages of the parasite. Different groups have demonstrated that triclosan, a common antibacterial agent, targets the Plasmodium liver enzyme enoyl reductase. Here, we provide 4 independent lines of evidence demonstrating that triclosan specifically targets both wild-type and pyrimethamine-resistant P . falciparum and P . vivax dihydrofolate reductases, classic targets for the blood stage of the parasite. This makes triclosan an exciting candidate for further development as a dual specificity antimalarial, which could target both liver and blood stages of the parasite.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
DOI:
10.1038/s41598-018-19549-x
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2018
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
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