Possible roles of amyloids in malaria pathophysiology
Moles, Ernest (Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya)
Valle Delgado, Juan José (Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya)
Urbán, Patricia (Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya)
Azcárate, Isabel G. (Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular)
Bautista, José M. (Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular)
Selva, Javier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Egea, Gustavo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Ventura, Salvador (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Fernàndez-Busquets, Xavier (Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal))
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Bioquímica i de Biologia Molecular

Date:	2015
Abstract:	The main therapeutic and prophylactic tools against malaria have been locked for more than a century in the classical approaches of using drugs targeting metabolic processes of the causing agent, the protist Plasmodium spp. , and of designing vaccines against chosen antigens found on the parasite's surface. Given the extraordinary resources exhibited by Plasmodium to escape these traditional strategies, which have not been able to free humankind from the scourge of malaria despite much effort invested in them, new concepts have to be explored in order to advance toward eradication of the disease. In this context, amyloid-forming proteins and peptides found in the proteome of the pathogen should perhaps cease being regarded as mere anomalous molecules. Their likely functionality in the pathophysiology of Plasmodium calls for attention being paid to them as a possible Achilles' heel of malaria. Here we will give an overview of Plasmodium-encoded amyloid-forming polypeptides as potential therapeutic targets and toxic elements, particularly in relation to cerebral malaria and the blood-brain barrier function. We will also discuss the recent finding that the genome of the parasite contains an astonishingly high proportion of prionogenic domains.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2014-52872-R Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación BIO2011-25039 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BFU2012-33932 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2014/SGR-938
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Amyloids ; Intrinsically unstructured proteins ; Malaria ; Prions
Published in:	Future science OA, Vol. 1, issue 2 (2015) , p. FSO43, ISSN 2056-5623

DOI: 10.4155/fso.15.43
PMID: 28031872

8 p, 4.7 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles