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)

A number of choline and ethanolamine analogs were evaluated as inhibitors of P. falciparum growth in vitro. 1-Aziridineethanol, DL-2-amino-1,3-propranediol and D- or L-2-amino-1-butanol were the most efficient inhibitors of parasite multiplication, with an IC50 of 50-80 microM, whereas numerous other analogs were less active. The effect of D-2-amino-1-butanol on various metabolisms of P. knowlesi-infected simian erythrocytes was studied by incubating these cells with different labeled precursors of phospholipids, nucleic acids, proteins, and with radioactive glucose. In the presence of radioactive glycerol, oleate or lysophosphatidylcholine, the appearance of radioactivity in an unnatural phospholipid indicated that 2-aminobutanol was incorporated into a new PL which accounted for up to 30-40% of the total biosynthesized lipids. This new phospholipid accumulated primarily at the expense of PE biosynthesis and decreased the decarboxylation of phosphatidylserine. These effects were not accompanied, over a large range of concentrations, by any parallel change in nucleic or protein synthesis, nor in glucose metabolism. These data demonstrate that the incorporation of analogs, instead of the natural polar head groups, into cellular phospholipids, and/or modification of phospholipid composition have a deleterious impact on the growth of Plasmodium. It follows that PL metabolism is a crucial process for Plasmodium growth and may constitute a potentially fruitful chemotherapeutic approach to malaria.
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PMID:Phospholipid metabolism as a new target for malaria chemotherapy. Mechanism of action of D-2-amino-1-butanol. 643 95

The proliferation of the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum within the erythrocyte is concomitant with massive phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine biosynthesis. Based on pharmacological and genetic data, de novo biosynthesis pathways of both phospholipids appear to be essential for parasite survival. The present study characterizes PfCK (P. falciparum choline kinase) and PfEK (P. falciparum ethanolamine kinase), which catalyse the first enzymatic steps of these essential metabolic pathways. Recombinant PfCK and PfEK were expressed as His6-tagged fusion proteins from overexpressing Escherichia coli strains, then purified to homogeneity and characterized. Using murine polyclonal antibodies against recombinant kinases, PfCK and PfEK were shown to be localized within the parasite cytoplasm. Protein expression levels increased during erythrocytic development. PfCK and PfEK appeared to be specific to their respective substrates and followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The Km value of PfCK for choline was 135.3+/-15.5 microM. PfCK was also able to phosphorylate ethanolamine with a very low affinity. PfEK was found to be an ethanolamine-specific kinase (Km=475.7+/-80.2 microM for ethanolamine). The quaternary ammonium compound hemicholinium-3 and an ethanolamine analogue, 2-amino-1-butanol, selectively inhibited PfCK or PfEK. In contrast, the bis-thiazolium compound T3, which was designed as a choline analogue and is currently in clinical trials for antimalarial treatment, affected PfCK and PfEK activities similarly. Inhibition exerted by T3 was competitive for both PfCK and PfEK and correlated with the impairment of cellular phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. Comparative analyses of sequences and structures for both kinase types gave insights into their specific inhibition profiles and into the dual capacity of T3 to inhibit both PfCK and PfEK.
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PMID:Comparison of the cellular and biochemical properties of Plasmodium falciparum choline and ethanolamine kinases. 1984 8