Last Updated: 28/08/2024
Evaluation of metabolic effects of synthetic terpenes in Plasmodium falciparum for the development of new drugs
Objectives
*Original in Portuguese: Avaliação de efeitos metabólicos de terpenos sintéticos em Plasmodium falciparum para o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos
The objective of this project is to investigate the activity of synthetic terpenes as disruptors of isoprenoid metabolism and inhibitors of the prenol kinase enzyme in P. falciparum. The project also seeks to optimize the antimalarial action of these compounds through changes in their molecular structure, and to study the effect of the compounds in combination with antimalarials.
Malaria is a disease caused by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite and represents a serious public health problem, especially in developing countries. There are currently medications capable of combating the disease, but Plasmodium‘s resistance to these compounds has become a challenge, justifying the search for new antimalarials. Based on the findings of the research group, it is known that several terpenes such as geraniol, nerolidol or limonene have antimalarial effects in vitro and in vivo. All of these compounds have been shown to affect isoprenoid metabolism in different ways. Furthermore, geraniol has also been shown to inhibit a P. falciparum prenol kinase recently identified by our group. This inhibition has the potential to improve the efficacy of several other antimalarials that affect the biosynthesis of isoprenoids such as fosmidomycin and clindamycin. This project hopes to contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies against malaria.
Nov 2023 — Oct 2024
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