Last Updated: 03/08/2023
Construction of aptamer based knockdown of apetela2 nuclear protein (AP2) in Plasmodium falciparum
Objectives
To analyze the impact of ApiAP2 gene modulation, using the Tet-Aptamer knockdown system, on the asexual life cycle of the P. falciparum parasite.
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by intracellular parasites of the genus Plasmodium. In humans, the infection can be caused by five species of the parasite and Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the most severe form of the disease. Despite advances in the last decade resulting in a decrease in the number of cases, malaria is still responsible for causing more than 400,000 deaths per year worldwide. On the other hand, the emergence of resistant strains to the drugs used for the treatment of the disease corroborate to make it difficult to control and eradicate malaria. In this scenario, the study and characterization of proteins and signaling pathways in Plasmodium may result in the development of new therapeutic targets, in addition to elucidating the mechanisms behind the cellular machinery used by the parasite. The ApiAP2 gene is a transcription factor expressed throughout the asexual life cycle of the parasite that leads to its better adaptation to the environment in which it is inserted and potentially to an increase in antimalarial resistance. Thus, the results generated by this study will provide new information about this important gene.
Jun 2022 — May 2023
