Thioredoxin and glutathione system of malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
Plasmodium falciparum is the causative agent of malaria tropica. Due to the increasing resistance towards the commonly used plasmodicidal drugs there is an urgent need to identify and assess new targets for the chemotherapeutic intervention of parasite development in the human host. It is established that P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes are vulnerable to oxidative stress, and therefore efficient antioxidative systems are required to ensure parasite development within the host cell. The thioredoxin and glutathione redox systems represent two powerful means to detoxify reactive oxygen species and this article summarizes some of the recent work which has led to a better understanding of these systems in the parasite and will help to assess them as potential targets for the development of new chemotherapeutics of malaria.
Müller
S
S
Department of Parasite Biochemistry, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse 74, 20359 Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Gilberger
T W
TW
Krnajski
Z
Z
Lüersen
K
K
Meierjohann
S
S
Walter
R D
RD
D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013880:Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D013879:Thioredoxins / Q000378:metabolism*
D000962:Antimalarials; D013879:Thioredoxins; D002738:Chloroquine; D013880:Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase; D005978:Glutathione