title: Cloning, sequence and expression of the lactate dehydrogenase gene from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium vivax.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of Firat, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, 23169 Elazig, Turkey. dilek@balik.firat.edu.tr
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Turgut-Balik
authors.forename: Ekrem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Akbulut
authors.forename: Debbie K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Shoemark
authors.forename: Venhar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Moreton
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Sessions
authors.forename: J John
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Holbrook
authors.forename: R Leo
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Brady
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase