Last Updated: 02/08/2024
Creation of a new drug discovery platform targeting the malaria parasite cell division mechanism
Objectives
*Original title and text were machine translated from Japanese.
This study elucidates the structure, properties, dynamics, and structural changes of PfDYN2 in membrane constriction in order to determine the function of PfDYN2 in the cell division process of Plasmodium falciparum.
Malaria is a parasitic infection that is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics, and annually infects 250 million people and causes 600,000 deaths. In recent years, P. falciparum malaria parasites that are resistant to artemisinin, the first-line drug, have appeared in Africa, making the development of new antimalarial drugs an urgent issue. The proliferation process of malaria parasites involves dynamic membrane deformation of the parasite, but the mechanism is not clear. Functional analysis of PfDYN2 was done, a homolog of the mammalian membrane regulatory protein dynamin, and found that PfDYN2 is essential for cell division in protozoa, and from in vitro analysis, it is possible that PfDYN2 directly constricts the cell membrane. To this end, there will be collaboration with research collaborators to conduct in vitro analysis, in cellulo analysis, dynamic body analysis using an atomic force microscope, structural analysis using a cryo-electron microscope, and modeling from three-dimensional structures. Using these multi-approaches, we will develop an antimalarial molecular targeting drug that targets PfDYN2 and is superior to existing antimalarial drugs.
Apr 2023 — Mar 2024
$295,278
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