Publications by authors named "Maria Carolina Silva de Barros Puca"
Objectives: Primaquine is essential for the radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria and must be metabolized into its bioactive metabolites. Accordingly, polymorphisms in primaquine-metabolizing enzymes can impact the treatment efficacy. This pioneering study explores the influence of monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) on primaquine metabolism and its impact on malaria relapses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimaquine (PQ) is the main drug used to eliminate dormant liver stages and prevent relapses in malaria. It also has an effect on the gametocytes of ; however, it is unclear to what extent PQ affects gametocytes. PQ metabolism involves multiple enzymes, including the highly polymorphic CYP2D6 and the cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorrection for Ferreira et al., "Computational Chemogenomics Drug Repositioning Strategy Enables the Discovery of Epirubicin as a New Repurposed Hit for Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax".
Antimicrob Agents Chemother
October 2020
Computational Chemogenomics Drug Repositioning Strategy Enables the Discovery of Epirubicin as a New Repurposed Hit for Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother
August 2020
Article Synopsis
- - Widespread resistance to current antimalarial drugs has sparked the urgent need for new effective treatments, leading researchers to explore drug repositioning as a cost-effective strategy.
- - A computer-assisted drug repositioning approach identified seven promising drug candidates, with epirubicin being highlighted for further testing due to its strong effectiveness against both drug-sensitive and resistant malaria strains.
- - Experimental validation revealed that epirubicin not only kills malaria parasites but also blocks their transmission, and further studies aim to understand its mechanism of action, suggesting it could be optimized for use in malaria treatment.