Provitamin B5 (Pantothenol) inhibits growth of the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite

Kevin J. Saliba*, Isabelle Ferru, Kiaran Kirk

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    60 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Pantothenic acid, a precursor of the crucial enzyme cofactor coenzyme A, is one of a relatively few nutrients for which the intraerythrocytic parasite has an absolute and acute requirement from the external medium. In some organisms the provitamin pantothenol can serve as a source of pantothenic acid; however, this was not the case for the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Instead, pantothenol inhibited the in vitro growth of P. falciparum via a mechanism that involves competition with pantothenate and which can be attributed to inhibition of the parasite's pantothenate kinase. Oral administration of pantothenol to mice infected with the murine parasite Plasmodium vinckei vinckei resulted in a significant inhibition of parasite proliferation. This study highlights the potential of the coenzyme A biosynthesis pathway in general, and pantothenate kinase in particular, as an antimalarial drug target.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)632-637
    Number of pages6
    JournalAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
    Volume49
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2005

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Provitamin B5 (Pantothenol) inhibits growth of the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this