Last Updated: 15/10/2025
Study on antimalarial mechanism of artemisinin compounds
Objectives
The research aims to uncover the antimalarial mechanism of artemisinin compounds, which remains unclear despite their significance in treating malaria. By investigating the interaction of artemisinins with infected red blood cells and their effects on various metabolic pathways, the study seeks to enhance clinical applications and combat drug resistance, ultimately contributing to global health.
The antimalarial mechanism of artemisinins is not clear, and is also one of the big problems we have been hoping to solve for many years. Further uncovering of its antimalarial mechanism will guide us to develop reasonable clinical prescriptions, guard against the generation of drug-resistant strains, discover new types of artemisinin-based combination therapy, and broaden clinical applications. Based on artemisinins’ selective effects on Plasmodium in the erythrocyte stage, the investigators will firstly focus on the interaction between artemisinins and infected red blood cells in this subject. Through research on accumulation of artemisinins in infected red blood cell membrane structure, distribution and metabolism of artemisinins in infected red cells, the effects of artemisinins on the iron metabolism pathway of the apicoplast and the direct targets on infected red blood cells, the research team expects to gain a preliminary understanding of how artemisinins act on infected red blood cells. The general plan will be carried out step by step to solidify the basic research, develop sustainable programs, foster talent echelon formation, and ultimately occupy the research frontier of artemisinin. This work will facilitate artemisinin—the traditional Chinese medicine–derived innovative drug—to contribute more to human health.
Jul 2016 — Dec 2018
$748,556
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