title: Plasmodium falciparum: new molecular targets with potential for antimalarial drug development.
abstract: Malaria remains one of the world's most devastating infectious diseases. Drug resistance to all classes of antimalarial agents has now been observed, highlighting the need for new agents that act against novel parasite targets. The complete sequencing of the Plasmodium falciparum genome has allowed the identification of new molecular targets within the parasite that may be amenable to chemotherapeutic intervention. In this review, we investigate four possible targets for the future development of new classes of antimalarial agents. These targets include histone deacetylase, the aspartic proteases or plasmepsins, aminopeptidases and the purine salvage enzyme hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase.
authors.affiliation: Malaria Biology Laboratory, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, 300 Herston Road, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia. don.gardiner@qimr.edu.au
authors.forename: Donald L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: Tina S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Skinner-Adams
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Katherine T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Colin M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Stack
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: Katharine R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Trenholme
mesh_terms: D000626:Aminopeptidases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D015195:Drug Design; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007041:Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D010430:Pentosyltransferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D010430:Pentosyltransferases; C024827:xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase; D007041:Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase; D000626:Aminopeptidases; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C089643:plasmepsin