Diverse chemotypes disrupt ion homeostasis in the malaria parasite

The antimalarial spiroindolones disrupt Plasmodium falciparumNa⁺ regulation and induce an alkalinization of the parasite cytosol. It has been proposed that they do so by inhibiting PfATP4, a parasite plasma membrane P-type ATPase postulated to export Na⁺ and import H⁺ equivalents. Here, we screened the 400 antiplasmodial compounds of the open access 'Malaria Box' for their effects on parasite ion regulation. Twenty eight compounds affected parasite Na⁺ and pH regulation in a manner consistent with PfATP4 inhibition. Six of these, with chemically diverse structures, were selected for further analysis. All six showed reduced antiplasmodial activity against spiroindolone-resistant parasites carrying mutations in pfatp4. We exposed parasites to incrementally increasing concentrations of two of the six compounds and in both cases obtained resistant parasites with mutations in pfatp4. The finding that diverse chemotypes have an apparently similar mechanism of action indicates that PfATP4 may be a significant Achilles' heel for the parasite.