Intraerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum biosynthesize menaquinone

Herein, we show that intraerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum have an active pathway for biosynthesis of menaquinone. Kinetic assays confirmed that plasmodial menaquinone acts at least in the electron transport. Similarly to Escherichia coli, we observed increased levels of menaquinone in p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEBS letters 2010-12, Vol.584 (23), p.4761-4768
Main Authors: Tonhosolo, Renata, Gabriel, Heloisa B., Matsumura, Miriam Y., Cabral, Fernanda J., Yamamoto, Márcio M., D’Alexandri, Fábio L., Sussmann, Rodrigo A.C., Belmonte, Rodrigo, Peres, Valnice J., Crick, Dean C., Wunderlich, Gerhard, Kimura, Emília A., Katzin, Alejandro M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anaerobiosis
Animals
Apicomplexa
Benzophenones - pharmacology
Electrons
Erythrocytes - parasitology
Escherichia coli
Life Cycle Stages
Malaria
Malaria - drug therapy
Malaria - metabolism
Menaquinone
Molecular Targeted Therapy
Mycobacterium
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum - drug effects
Plasmodium falciparum - growth & development
Plasmodium falciparum - metabolism
Ubiquinone
Vitamin K
Vitamin K 2 - analogs & derivatives
Vitamin K 2 - metabolism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Herein, we show that intraerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum have an active pathway for biosynthesis of menaquinone. Kinetic assays confirmed that plasmodial menaquinone acts at least in the electron transport. Similarly to Escherichia coli, we observed increased levels of menaquinone in parasites kept under anaerobic conditions. Additionally, the mycobacterial inhibitor of menaquinone synthesis Ro 48-8071 also suppressed menaquinone biosynthesis and growth of parasites, although off-targets may play a role in this growth-inhibitory effect. Due to its absence in humans, the menaquinone biosynthesis can be considered an important drug target for malaria.
ISSN:0014-5793
1873-3468
DOI:10.1016/j.febslet.2010.10.055