Recent Advances in Drug Therapy for Malaria

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 3637

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
Interests: malaria; infection; plasmodium; immunology; parasitology; tropical diseases

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Guest Editor
Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
Interests: enteric viruses; children; phylogenetic analysis; diarrhea; Gabon

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite significant efforts, malaria continues to be a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa and claims hundreds of thousands of victims yearly, mainly children under the age of five. Artemisinin combination therapy has been the cornerstone of antimalarial therapy in the last two decades, but the emergence of artemisinin resistance in P. falciparum poses a challenge for continuing to reduce malaria incidence and mortality globally. The first malaria vaccine has been recommended by the WHO since October 2021 for children aged five months and older living in areas with moderate to high malaria transmission. However, the vaccine has only shown modest efficacy; therefore, new therapeutic strategies remain essential to avoid malaria deaths in the coming years. In addition, drugs with preventive and transmission-blocking effects are crucial to take the next step towards eliminating malaria.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute with an article to this Special Issue on “Recent Advances in Drug Therapy for Malaria” to update the current state of the art and address ongoing knowledge gaps in malaria therapy.

This Special Issue aims to publish original research and review articles related to the prevention, treatment, and transmission blocking of malaria to assemble a collection of publications highlighting recent advances in drug therapy for malaria and to raise awareness of this life-threatening disease.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Antimalarial drug resistance;
  • Malaria chemoprophylaxis;
  • Drug therapy;
  • Malaria elimination;
  • Novel antimalarials;
  • Plasmodium falciparum;
  • Transmission blocking activity;
  • Pharmacogenetics;
  • Pharmacogenomics;
  • Antimalarial drug design;
  • Drug targeting;
  • Antimalarial drug delivery.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jana Held
Prof. Dr. Steffen Borrmann
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • novel antimalarials
  • malaria elimination
  • Plasmodium falciparum
  • antimalarial drug resistance
  • transmission blocking
  • drug therapy
  • artemisinin
  • pharmacogenomics
  • pharmacogenetics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1589 KiB  
Article
Epidrugs as Promising Tools to Eliminate Plasmodium falciparum Artemisinin-Resistant and Quiescent Parasites
by Thibaud Reyser, Lucie Paloque, Michel Nguyen, Jean-Michel Augereau, Matthew John Fuchter, Marie Lopez, Paola B. Arimondo, Storm Hassell-Hart, John Spencer, Luisa Di Stefano and Françoise Benoit-Vical
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(10), 2440; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15102440 - 10 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1833
Abstract
The use of artemisinin and its derivatives has helped reduce the burden of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. However, artemisinin-resistant parasites are able, in the presence of artemisinins, to stop their cell cycles. This quiescent state can alter the activity of artemisinin partner [...] Read more.
The use of artemisinin and its derivatives has helped reduce the burden of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. However, artemisinin-resistant parasites are able, in the presence of artemisinins, to stop their cell cycles. This quiescent state can alter the activity of artemisinin partner drugs leading to a secondary drug resistance and thus threatens malaria eradication strategies. Drugs targeting epigenetic mechanisms (namely epidrugs) are emerging as potential antimalarial drugs. Here, we set out to evaluate a selection of various epidrugs for their activity against quiescent parasites, to explore the possibility of using these compounds to counter artemisinin resistance. The 32 chosen epidrugs were first screened for their antiplasmodial activity and selectivity. We then demonstrated, thanks to the specific Quiescent-stage Survival Assay, that four epidrugs targeting both histone methylation or deacetylation as well as DNA methylation decrease the ability of artemisinin-resistant parasites to recover after artemisinin exposure. In the quest for novel antiplasmodial drugs with new modes of action, these results reinforce the therapeutic potential of epidrugs as antiplasmodial drugs especially in the context of artemisinin resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Drug Therapy for Malaria)
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Review

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24 pages, 1432 KiB  
Review
Tiny Green Army: Fighting Malaria with Plants and Nanotechnology
by Isabelle Moraes-de-Souza, Bianca P. T. de Moraes, Adriana R. Silva, Stela R. Ferrarini and Cassiano F. Gonçalves-de-Albuquerque
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(6), 699; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16060699 - 23 May 2024
Viewed by 1374
Abstract
Malaria poses a global threat to human health, with millions of cases and thousands of deaths each year, mainly affecting developing countries in tropical and subtropical regions. Malaria’s causative agent is Plasmodium species, generally transmitted in the hematophagous act of female Anopheles sp. [...] Read more.
Malaria poses a global threat to human health, with millions of cases and thousands of deaths each year, mainly affecting developing countries in tropical and subtropical regions. Malaria’s causative agent is Plasmodium species, generally transmitted in the hematophagous act of female Anopheles sp. mosquitoes. The main approaches to fighting malaria are eliminating the parasite through drug treatments and preventing transmission with vector control. However, vector and parasite resistance to current strategies set a challenge. In response to the loss of drug efficacy and the environmental impact of pesticides, the focus shifted to the search for biocompatible products that could be antimalarial. Plant derivatives have a millennial application in traditional medicine, including the treatment of malaria, and show toxic effects towards the parasite and the mosquito, aside from being accessible and affordable. Its disadvantage lies in the type of administration because green chemical compounds rapidly degrade. The nanoformulation of these compounds can improve bioavailability, solubility, and efficacy. Thus, the nanotechnology-based development of plant products represents a relevant tool in the fight against malaria. We aim to review the effects of nanoparticles synthesized with plant extracts on Anopheles and Plasmodium while outlining the nanotechnology green synthesis and current malaria prevention strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Drug Therapy for Malaria)
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