Artemisinins: mechanisms of action and potential for resistance.
Artemisinins form the most important class of antimalarial currently available, particularly because they are effective against parasites resistant to almost all the other classes. Their mechanism of action is controversial. Some aspects of this controversy are reviewed here. Whilst there is no clinical resistance yet identified to artemisinins, the potential to examine the relationship between polymorphisms in PfATP6 (a target of artemisinins) in multidrug resistant isolates of Plasmodium falciparum, is also discussed.
Krishna
Sanjeev
S
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Infectious Diseases, St. George's Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK. s.krishna@sghms.ac.uk
Uhlemann
Anne-Catrin
AC
Haynes
Richard K
RK
D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins