Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

More than 1,000 cases of malaria are diagnosed each year in the United States. Reported numbers, however, may be artificially low because many clinicians fail to consider the diagnosis on presentation, U.S. hospital laboratory technologists have very limited experience in detecting and identifying malaria parasites, and reporting of malaria to state health departments is sporadic in many states. In this study, a rapid malaria diagnostic test, the OptiMAL test (DiaMed; under license from Flow Inc., Portland, Oreg.) was evaluated in six U.S. hospitals and compared with results of microscopy. The OptiMAL test is a 15-min rapid immunochromatographic test that both identifies and differentiates Plasmodium falciparum from non-P. falciparum malaria parasites on the basis of the detection of parasite lactate dehydrogenase in a drop of patient blood. A total of 216 specimens from patients suspected of having malaria were tested. Results indicated that 43 samples (20%) were positive for malaria parasites by microscopy (32 P. falciparum, 11 non-P. falciparum) while 42 (19%) were positive by OptiMAL (31 P. falciparum, 11 non-P. falciparum). The sensitivity of the OptiMAL test was 98%; its specificity was 100%, with positive and negative predictive values of 100 and 99%, respectively. Participating hospital physicians and laboratory directors independently reported that the OptiMAL rapid malaria test was accurate, easy to use, and well accepted by those working in their diagnostic laboratories. The overall conclusion was that integration of the OptiMAL rapid malaria test into the U.S. health care infrastructure would provide an important and easy-to-use tool for the timely diagnosis of malaria.
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PMID:Multicenter study to evaluate the OptiMAL test for rapid diagnosis of malaria in U.S. hospitals. 1460 56

Malaria is a parasitic infection caused by Plasmodium species and it is especially seen in tropical and subtropical areas. Our aim was to determine whether or not malaria is transmitted by blood transfusion in Turkey and to define the rate and the differences between endemic and non-endemic areas. During this study, blood samples were taken from donors who applied to Blood Banks in Istanbul (non-endemic area) and in Adana (endemic area). 2229 donors were screened using the OptilMAL Rapid Malaria Test and Giemsa staining method. Neither the OptiMAL Rapid Malaria Test nor the gold standard Giemsa staining method detected infected erythrocytes and Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase.
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PMID:Detection of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum in blood donors: comparison of new method to the conventional one. 1474 15

Malaria remains a major disease of mankind, and resistance to existing therapeutics is rapidly emerging. Limited financial investment to develop new therapeutics requires the careful selection of well-defined targets from the causative parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. In these circumstances, protein crystallography can provide valuable structural detail to facilitate both the selection of suitable targets and the development of compounds to provide novel drug candidates. This review summarises the current involvement of crystallographic studies in anti-malarial drug development programmes. Protein crystallography is increasingly central to the exploitation of a number of potential Plasmodial targets. including the aspartic acid proteases (plasmepsins) and cysteine proteases (falcipains) involved in haem degradation within the parasite food vacuole. Lead compounds are being identified from collections previously synthesised against homologous human enzymes. Plasmodium have an unusual dependence on the glycolytic pathway relative to their human hosts, and this is reflected in subtle structural differences identified in the crystal structures of a number of parasite glycolytic enzymes including aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase. Other enzymes from a range of biosynthetic pathways have also been targeted in crystallographic studies. These include dihydrofolate reductase, the target of existing anti-folate therapeutics, and enoyl reductase from the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway which is already the target of effective bacteriocides. Crystal structures of these drug-enzyme complexes not only allow visualisation and improvement of inhibitor-protein contacts, but in the former case have also been used to probe the molecular basis of emerging anti-malarial drug resistance. Crystallography is similarly proving valuable as a tool to facilitate the development of inhibitors of purine salvage, isoprenoid synthesis and utilisation, and protein processing mechanisms.
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PMID:Structure-based approaches to the development of novel anti-malarials. 1501 47

The primary pathophysiological events contributing to fatal malaria are the cerebral syndrome, anemia, and lactic acidosis. The molecular basis of each event has been unclear. In the present study, microarray analysis of murine transcriptional responses during the development of severe disease revealed temporal, organ-specific, and pathway-specific patterns. More than 400 genes in the brain and 600 genes in the spleen displayed transcriptional changes. Dominant patterns revealed strongly suppressed erythropoiesis, starting early during infection, and highly up-regulated transcription of genes that control host glycolysis, including lactate dehydrogenase. The latter presents a mechanism that may contribute to metabolic acidosis. No evidence for hypoxia-mediated regulation of these events was observed. Interferon-regulated gene transcripts dominated the inflammatory response to cytokines. These results demonstrate previously unknown transcriptional changes in the host that may underlie the development of malarial syndromes, such as anemia and metabolic dysregulation, and increase the utility of murine models in investigation of basic malarial pathogenesis.
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PMID:Transcriptional profiling reveals suppressed erythropoiesis, up-regulated glycolysis, and interferon-associated responses in murine malaria. 1503 94

Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, relies extensively on glycolysis coupled with homolactic fermentation during its blood-borne stages for energy production. Selective inhibitors of the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), central to NAD(+) regeneration, therefore potentially provide a route to new antimalarial drugs directed against a novel molecular target. A series of heterocyclic, azole-based compounds are described that preferentially inhibit P. falciparum LDH at sub-micromolar concentrations, typically at concentrations about 100-fold lower than required for human lactate dehydrogenase inhibition. Crystal structures show these competitive inhibitors form a network of interactions with amino acids within the active site of the enzyme, stacking alongside the nicotinamide ring of the NAD(+) cofactor. These compounds display modest activity against parasitized erythrocytes, including parasite strains with known resistance to existing anti-malarials and against Plasmodium berghei in BALB/c mice. Initial toxicity data suggest the azole derivatives have generally low cytotoxicity, and preliminary pharmoco-kinetic data show favorable bioavailability and circulation times. These encouraging results suggest that further enhancement of these structures may yield candidates suitable for consideration as new therapeutics for the treatment of malaria. In combination these studies also provide strong support for the validity of targeting the Plasmodium glycolytic pathway and, in particular, LDH in the search for novel anti-malarials.
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PMID:Identification and activity of a series of azole-based compounds with lactate dehydrogenase-directed anti-malarial activity. 1511 37

The increasing prevalence and distribution of malaria has been attributed to a number of factors, one of them being the emergence and spread of drug resistant parasites. Efforts are now being directed towards the discovery and development of new chemically diverse antimalarial agents. The present study reports on the in vitro antiplasmodial activity of 134 plant taxa native to or naturalised in South Africa, representing 54 families, which were selected semi-quantitatively using weighted criteria. The plant extracts were tested for in vitro activity against a Plasmodium falciparum strain D10 using the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) assay. Of the 134 species assayed, 49% showed promising antiplasmodial activity (IC(50)< or = 10 microg/ml), while 17% were found to be highly active (IC(50)< or = 5 microg/ml). Several plant species and genera were shown for the first time to possess in vitro antiplasmodial activity. These results support a rational rather than random approach to the selection of antiplasmodial screening candidates, and identify a number of promising taxa for further investigation as plant-based antimalarial agents.
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PMID:In vitro antiplasmodial activity of medicinal plants native to or naturalised in South Africa. 1513 99

The roots of Eurycoma longifolia Jack have been used as traditional medicine to treat malaria. A systematic bioactivity-guided fractionation of this plant was conducted involving the determination of the effect of its various extracts and their chemical constituents on the lactate dehydrogenase activity of in vitro chloroquine-resistant Gombak A isolate and chloroquine-sensitive D10 strain of Plasmodium falciparum parasites. Their antiplasmodial activity was also compared with their known in vitro cytotoxicity against KB cells. Four quassinoids, eurycomanone (1), 13,21-dihydroeurycomanone (3), 13 alpha(21)-epoxyeurycomanone (4), eurycomalactone (6) and an alkaloid, 9-methoxycanthin-6-one (7), displayed higher antiplasmodial activity against Gombak A isolate but were less active against the D10 strain when compared with chloroquine. Amongst the compounds tested, 1 and 3 showed higher selectivity indices obtained for the cytotoxicity to antiplasmodial activity ratio than 14,15 beta-dihydroxyklaineanone (2), eurycomanol (5), 6 and 7.
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PMID:Antiplasmodial studies of Eurycoma longifolia Jack using the lactate dehydrogenase assay of Plasmodium falciparum. 1513 4

Transfusion-transmitted malaria (TTM), especially that caused by Plasmodium falciparum, is of great concern in malaria-endemic areas. As a result of increased international travel, migration, and the spread of drug-resistant parasites, TTM is also a growing problem in industrialized nations. An effective and inexpensive means of inactivating malaria parasites in blood products would represent an important advance. In this report, we demonstrate that photoactivation of plasmodial heme-cycle intermediates, derived from supplemental delta -aminolevulinic acid (ALA), by exposure to simple white light in the presence of ALA, reduces P. falciparum in culture to levels that are undetectable by light microscopy or lactate dehydrogenase assay. Photodynamic excitation of presumed heme-cycle intermediates, which was revealed by fluorescence microscopy, did not appear to adversely affect the viability of erythrocytes. These data suggest that this pathogen-inactivation strategy, which uses inexpensive reagents and white light, may represent an appropriate means of inactivating malaria parasites in blood products in resource-poor settings.
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PMID:Inactivation of Plasmodium falciparum by photodynamic excitation of heme-cycle intermediates derived from delta-aminolevulinic acid. 1519 59

Hemolysis presents as acute or chronic anemia, reticulocytosis, or jaundice. The diagnosis is established by reticulocytosis, increased unconjugated bilirubin and lactate dehydrogenase, decreased haptoglobin, and peripheral blood smear findings. Premature destruction of erythrocytes occurs intravascularly or extravascularly. The etiologies of hemolysis often are categorized as acquired or hereditary. Common acquired causes of hemolytic anemia are autoimmunity, microangiopathy, and infection. Immune-mediated hemolysis, caused by antierythrocyte antibodies, can be secondary to malignancies, autoimmune disorders, drugs, and transfusion reactions. Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia occurs when the red cell membrane is damaged in circulation, leading to intravascular hemolysis and the appearance of schistocytes. Infectious agents such as malaria and babesiosis invade red blood cells. Disorders of red blood cell enzymes, membranes, and hemoglobin cause hereditary hemolytic anemias. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency leads to hemolysis in the presence of oxidative stress. Hereditary spherocytosis is characterized by spherocytes, a family history, and a negative direct antiglobulin test. Sickle cell anemia and thalassemia are hemoglobinopathies characterized by chronic hemolysis.
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PMID:Hemolytic anemia. 1520 94

Increased drug resistance to anti-malarials highlights the need for the development of new therapeutics for the treatment of malaria. To this end, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) gene was cloned and sequenced from genomic DNA of Plasmodium vivax ( PvLDH) Belem strain. The 316 amino acid protein-coding region of the PvLDH gene was inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pKK223-3 and a 34 kDa protein with LDH activity was expressed in E. coli. Structural differences between human LDHs and PfLDH make the latter an attractive target for inhibitors leading to novel anti-malarial drugs. The sequence similarity between PvLDH and PfLDH (90% residue identity and no insertions or deletions) indicate that the same approach could be applied to Plasmodium vivax, the most common human malaria parasite in the world.
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PMID:Cloning, sequence and expression of the lactate dehydrogenase gene from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium vivax. 1521 78


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