title: Targeting the redox metabolism of Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: Targeting the redox metabolism of Plasmodium falciparum to create a fatal overload of oxidative stress is a route to explore the discovery of new antimalarial drugs. There are three main possibilities to target the redox metabolism of P. falciparum at the erythrocytic stage: selective targeting and inhibition of a redox P. falciparum protein or enzyme; oxidant drugs targeting essential parasite components and heme by-products; and redox cycler drugs targeting the parasitized red blood cell. Oxidants and redox cycler agents, with or without specific targets, may disrupt the fragile parasitized erythrocyte redox-dependent architecture given that: redox equilibrium plays a vital role at the erythrocytic stage; P. falciparum possesses major NADPH-dependent redox systems, such as glutathione and thioredoxin ones; and the protein-NADPH-dependent phosphorylation-dephosphorylation process is involved in building new permeation pathways and channels for the nutrient-waste import-export traffic of the parasite.
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, UPS; PHARMA-DEV (UMR 152); F-31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France. francoise.nepveu@univ-tlse3.fr.
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nepveu
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Turrini
mesh_terms: D000962:Antimalarials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D009285:Naphthoquinones; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C035342:1,4-naphthoquinone