LEEDS, England, April 23 (UPI) -- British scientists say they have created chemical compounds that kill the most deadly malaria parasites, including those resistant to existing drugs.
The University of Leeds researchers said the compounds work by preventing the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, which is essential to the growth of the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, from working.
"Without this enzyme, Plasmodium falciparum is unable to grow and therefore it dies," said lead researcher Glenn McConkey. "The inhibitors developed at Leeds bind to the … enzyme in the parasite and stop it functioning, preventing the proliferation of the parasites, which live in red blood cells. In addition, our chemicals are equally effective against parasites that have developed resistance to drugs."
Since the enzyme is not an essential one in humans, the compounds have no major side-effects to the human host.
"Our chemicals are particularly exciting as they kill malaria parasites at low concentrations, something that is important for medicines as they are massively diluted on entering the bloodstream and, unlike many pharmaceutical products, we have a firm understanding of the molecular basis of their action," McConkey said. "This project highlights the benefits of combining biological and chemistry disciplines."
The research appears in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
