Vitamin B6-Dependent Enzymes in the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum: A Druggable Target?. (9th January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kronenberger, Thales; Lindner, Jasmin; Meissner, Kamila A.; Zimbres, Flávia M.; Coronado, Monika A.; Sauer, Frank M.; Schettert, Isolmar; Wrenger, Carsten
• Other Names: Buckle Ashley M. Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2014(2014)
• Publication Date: 2014-01-09
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2014/108516
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : Malaria is a deadly infectious disease which affects millions of people each year in tropical regions. There is no effective vaccine available and the treatment is based on drugs which are currently facing an emergence of drug resistance and in this sense the search for new drug targets is indispensable. It is well established that vitamin biosynthetic pathways, such as the vitamin B6 de novo synthesis present in Plasmodium, are excellent drug targets. The active form of vitamin B6, pyridoxal 5-phosphate, is, besides its antioxidative properties, a cofactor for a variety of essential enzymes present in the malaria parasite which includes the ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, synthesis of polyamines), the aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT, involved in the protein biosynthesis), and the serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT, a key enzyme within the folate metabolism).