Malaria: New molecule with therapeutic potential (IMAGE)
Caption
KNX-002 is the first known inhibitor of myosin A, the ‘molecular motor’ of Plasmodium parasites. Malaria is caused by apicomplexans of the genus Plasmodium. These parasites have a complex life cycle. Malarial symptoms in their hosts (i.e., headaches and anaemia) occur during phases of the parasites’ asexual reproduction, when, in the form of merozoites, they invade red blood cells. This invasion relies on myosin A, the ‘molecular motor’ of Plasmodium. The ability of a small molecule, KNX-002, to inhibit myosin A has just been described by a group of CNRS scientists.
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© Julien Robert-Paganin & Anne Houdusse
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