The pathway of hemoglobin degradation in malaria parasites.
Hemoglobin degradation in malaria parasites appears to be a vital and massive undertaking during intraerythrocytic development. An ordered pathway exists that efficiently catabolizes hemoglobin to yield amino acids that the parasite uses as a nutrient source, and that co-ordinates the resultant heme into a remarkable crystalline structure called hemozoin. Daniel Goldberg and Andrew Slater explain that the enzymes involved are specific and present prime targets for chemotherapeutic intervention.
Goldberg
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Departments of Molecular Microbiology and Medicine, Washington University, Box 8230, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St Louis, MO 631 10, USA.
Slater
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