Last Updated: 18/06/2026
Function and inhibition of Plasmepsin V in targeting malaria virulence proteins into human erythrocytes
Objectives
This project aims to:
- Develop potent inhibitors of this protease in the hope of blocking its function and killing the parasite.
- Discover the components of the trafficking pathway after cleavage by Plasmepsin V that sorts virulence proteins to the host cell.
Principal Institution
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Australia
Principal Investigators / Focal Persons
Rationale and Abstract
Malaria parasites dramatically renovate infected erythrocytes to survive and evade the host immune system by delivering hundreds of exported parasite proteins into the cell. The parasite protease Plasmepsin V is essential for protein export.
Project Outputs
- · Article: Exploration of the P3 region of PEXEL peptidomimetics leads to a potent inhibitor of the Plasmodium protease, plasmepsin V - [Bioorg Med Chem, 2016]
- · Article: Export of malaria proteins requires co-translational processing of the PEXEL motif independent of phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate binding - [Nat Commun, 2016]
- · Article: Inhibition of Plasmepsin V Activity Blocks Plasmodium falciparum Gametocytogenesis and Transmission to Mosquitoes - [Cell Rep, 2019]
- · Article: Multiple Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein 1 Complexes Mediate Merozoite Binding to Human Erythrocytes* - [J Biol Chem, 2016]
- · Article: RhopH2 and RhopH3 export enables assembly of the RhopH complex on P. falciparum-infected erythrocyte membranes - [Commun Biol, 2022]
- · Article: Role of the ER and Golgi in protein export by Apicomplexa - [Curr Opin Cell Biol, 2016]
- · Article: Structural basis for plasmepsin V inhibition that blocks export of malaria proteins to human erythrocytes - [Nat Struct Mol Biol, 2015]
Date
Jan 2011 — Dec 2013
Total Project Funding
$415,327
Funding Details
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia, Australia
Grant ID: 1010326
AUD 407,845
Country / Project Site(s)
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