Role Of Exported Proteins In Malaria Parasite Development In The Liver
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,613.00
Summary
Each year over 250 million people contract malaria and over 1 million die. The key to the malaria parasite’s success is the ability to live inside host cells, including hepatocytes and erythrocytes. Here, we aim to determine how the malaria parasite lives within hepatocytes, to engineer mutant parasites that can no longer do so and to assess whether mutant parasites confer protection against future malaria. Our program will use the most virulent human parasite P. falciparum and the rodent parasi ....Each year over 250 million people contract malaria and over 1 million die. The key to the malaria parasite’s success is the ability to live inside host cells, including hepatocytes and erythrocytes. Here, we aim to determine how the malaria parasite lives within hepatocytes, to engineer mutant parasites that can no longer do so and to assess whether mutant parasites confer protection against future malaria. Our program will use the most virulent human parasite P. falciparum and the rodent parasite P. berghei.Read moreRead less
Function And Inhibition Of Plasmepsin V In Targeting Malaria Virulence Proteins Into Human Erythrocytes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$407,845.00
Summary
Malaria parasites dramatically renovate infected erythrocytes to survive and evade the host immune system by delivering hundreds of exported parasite proteins into the cell. The parasite protease Plasmepsin V is essential for protein export. We aim to develop potent inhibitors of this protease in the hope of blocking its function and killing the parasite. We also aim to discover the components of the trafficking pathway after cleavage by Plasmepsin V that sorts virulence proteins to the host cel ....Malaria parasites dramatically renovate infected erythrocytes to survive and evade the host immune system by delivering hundreds of exported parasite proteins into the cell. The parasite protease Plasmepsin V is essential for protein export. We aim to develop potent inhibitors of this protease in the hope of blocking its function and killing the parasite. We also aim to discover the components of the trafficking pathway after cleavage by Plasmepsin V that sorts virulence proteins to the host cell.Read moreRead less