HIV drugs known as protease inhibitors also protect against Malaria
Study Findings:
- Anti-HIV drugs inhibited the growth of Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite. These findings may also expose a previously unexplored vulnerability in the parasite that could lead to a new class of anti-malarial drug.
The team tested the effects of the protease inhibitors saquinavir, ritonavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir, and indinavir on a drug-resistant line of P. falciparum. Saquinavir, ritonavir, and indinavir all inhibited parasite growth in vitro at levels routinely achieved in human patients. Saquinavir was most effective in the study and was equally effective on drug-sensitive and -resistant parasite lines, while nelfinavir and amprenavir did not demonstrate anti-malarial activity. While the effects of these drugs on co-infection need to be investigated, the study’s findings may be especially significant in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas of the developing world where there are high rates of HIV and malaria co-infection.
“We believe that antiretroviral protease inhibitors attack the malaria parasite in ways that current antimalarial treatments do not. We are currently exploring the possibility that these drugs affect the parasite by interfering with proteases that are used to digest haemoglobin, a process necessary for normal parasite growth and development.”, said Dr Andrews from QIMR’s Clinical Tropical Medicine Laboratory. “Further research will improve our knowledge of how to treat co-infected patients with protease inhibitors, and may also lead to a new type of malaria drug that would target the parasite in novel ways.”
Related Articles:
- Original Research: Antiretrovirals as Antimalarial Agents
- HIV drugs known as protease inhibitors also protect against Malaria
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