Is the AT-rich DNA of malaria parasites a drug target?

Trends Pharmacol Sci

Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address:

Published: April 2022

A recent antimalarial screen by Alder and colleagues has uncovered a natural product, PDE-I, with DNA-binding and schizonticidal activity against Plasmodium falciparum. Parasite specificity is likely conferred by the extremely high A+T content of the P. falciparum genome. We discuss here this character as a potential target for future drugs.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2022.01.003DOI Listing

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