Structure, Function, and Thermodynamics of Lactate Dehydrogenases from Humans and the Malaria Parasite .

Temperature adaptation is ubiquitous among all living organisms, yet the molecular basis for this process remains poorly understood. It can be assumed that for parasite-host systems, the same enzymes found in both organisms respond to the same selection factor (human body temperature) with similar structural changes. Herein, we report the existence of a reversible temperature-dependent structural transition for the glycolytic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from the malaria parasite (pfLDH) and human heart (hhLDH) occurring in the temperature range of human fever.