Modified bone drug kills malaria parasite in mice
L. Brian Stauffer
The researchers found the drug by screening a library of about 1,000 compounds used in previous efforts to target an important biochemical pathway (called isoprenoid biosynthesis) in cancer and in disease-causing organisms. The new drug lead, BPH-703, inhibits a key enzyme in isoprenoid biosynthesis that enables the malaria parasite to sustain itself and defend itself from the host immune system. The drug has little effect on the same chemical pathway in human or mouse cells, said University of Illinois chemistry professor Eric Oldfield, who led the study.
The lead compounds are chemically modified forms of the osteoporosis drugs Actonel (Risedronate) and Zometa (Zoledronate), Oldfield said. Risedronate and Zoledronate potently block isoprenoid biosynthesis, but are unable to get across the membrane of red blood cells to get to the parasite. The modified forms include a long lipid tail that helps them pass through the lipid-rich membrane of red blood cells, and also enhances the drug's ability to bind to the target enzyme, geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGPPS), he said.
"We found that compounds that were really active had a very long hydrocarbon chain," Oldfield said. "These compounds can cross the cell membrane and work at very low concentrations."
"We are the first to show that the enzyme GGPPS is a valid target for malaria," said study co-author Yonghui Zhang, a research scientist in Oldfield's lab and inventor of the lead compound, BPH-703. "Our work gives a new direction to find new antimalarial drugs."
Most read news
Other news from the department science
Get the life science industry in your inbox
By submitting this form you agree that LUMITOS AG will send you the newsletter(s) selected above by email. Your data will not be passed on to third parties. Your data will be stored and processed in accordance with our data protection regulations. LUMITOS may contact you by email for the purpose of advertising or market and opinion surveys. You can revoke your consent at any time without giving reasons to LUMITOS AG, Ernst-Augustin-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany or by e-mail at revoke@lumitos.com with effect for the future. In addition, each email contains a link to unsubscribe from the corresponding newsletter.