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Calcium Signaling and Drug Resistance in Malaria Parasites
Research description:
The overall goal of this project is to study the role of calcium (Ca2+) signaling for drug resistance in the human malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum). A major obstacle in today’s malaria control programs is the drug resistance which was developed to nearly all existent antimalarials used nowadays. A cogent measure to tackle this problem has not yet been established, mainly due to the lack of knowledge in the basis of drug resistance development in P. falciparum. Several antimalarials, such as chloroquine, mefloquine, and artemisinin, are known to affect Ca2+ signaling pathways in cell types other than the P. falciparum/red blood cell (RBC) system. Calcium signaling is a highly diverse cell signaling mechanism that is involved in numerous cell processes, such as apoptosis, necrosis, gene transcription, and immuno responses. We hypothesize that Ca2+ signaling plays a role in the development of drug resistance in P. falciparum and that antimalarials exert their activity by inducing parasite cell death. Increased knowledge about the signaling mechanisms of drug resistance has major implications for treatments of malaria and other infectious diseases. Project members: Akira Kaneko and Per Uhlen, Associate Professors; Pedro Ferreira, PhD Student Approximate start and end date: Start 2007-01-01 End 2009-12-31
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