Therapeutics through glycobiology: an approach for targeted elimination of malaria

Mallya Divya, Sowmya R. Prabhu, Kapaettu Satyamoorthy, Abdul Vahab Saadi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The emergence of drug resistance in Plasmodium jeopardises worldwide malaria eradication efforts necessitating novel therapeutic approaches and therefore the identification of key metabolic pathways of parasite and human host for drug development garners importance. Enzymopathies like glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (G6PD) and pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiencies have been shown to protect against the severe consequences of malaria. Glycome profiles and the regulatory mechanisms involving the microRNAs or transcription factors’ expression related to the histo-blood group glycogenes may add up to resolve the underlying pathogenesis. The glycan derivatives viz. heparin-like molecules (HLMs) interrupt parasite proliferation that can be exploited as leads for alternative therapies. The Plasmodium invasion of erythrocytes involve events of receptor recognition, adhesion, and ligand interactions. Since post translational modifications like N-glycosylation of merozoite surface proteins and several erythrocyte cluster of differentiation (CD) antigens and complement receptor, among others, are crucial to parasite invasion, understanding of post translational modification of proteins involved in the parasite-host interactions should identify viable antimalarial strategies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1807-1811
Number of pages5
JournalBiologia
Volume78
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 07-2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Biochemistry
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Plant Science
  • Cell Biology

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