Na+ Influx Induced by New Antimalarials Causes Rapid Alterations in the Cholesterol Content and Morphology of Plasmodium falciparum.

ABSTRACT: Among the several new antimalarials discovered over the past decade are at least three clinical candidate drugs, each with a distinct chemical structure, that disrupt Na+ homeostasis resulting in a rapid increase in intracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]i) within the erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum. At present, events triggered by Na+ influx that result in parasite demise are not well-understood. Here we report effects of two such drugs, a pyrazoleamide and a spiroindolone, on intraerythrocytic P. falciparum. Within minutes following the exposure to these drugs, the trophozoite stage parasite, which normally contains little cholesterol, was made permeant by cholesterol-dependent detergents, suggesting it acquired a substantial amount of the lipid. Consistently, the merozoite s

SUBMITTER: Das S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4881962 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature