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KIC5: A New Piece in the Puzzle of Artemisinin Resistance
Manage episode 386124477 series 3531530
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Drug resistance is on the rise, but genetics can help us understand what's driving it. Here, researchers identify a protein associated with resistance to artemisinin, a key malaria drug.
Transcript
Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) are considered the most effective method to treat malaria. Yet drug resistance to them is on the rise, spreading from Southeast Asia to Africa, becoming a real problem. A genetic approach to drug resistance can help us understand the genes responsible for this. Artemisinin resistance has long been associated with mutations to a protein called Kelch13. By screening the parasite genome, researchers have identified another protein associated with resistance to the drug. Called KIC5, this protein helps maintain nuclear homeostasis – balance within the parasite’s cell – as it lives in human red blood cells. When expressed, it helps the parasite overcome artemisinin stress by supporting DNA repair and other mitochondrial activity. But when it’s disrupted, the parasite can’t deal with this stress and becomes sensitized to the drug. Almost like flipping a switch, disrupting KIC5 makes artemisinin work again.
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The Johns Hopkins Malaria Minute podcast is produced by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute to highlight impactful malaria research and to share it with the global community.
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