Cellular characterization of artemisinin resistance in human malaria.

• Main Author: Low, Kum Yong.
• Other Authors: Zbynek Bozdech
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences::Molecular biology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/54196
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Malaria is a deadly disease transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, and Plasmodium falciparum results in upwards of 1.5 million deaths per year. It is a disease endemic to tropical and sub-tropical regions. While chloroquine was effective during the 1960s to 1970s, the worldwide spread of chloroquine resistance has all rendered the drug useless against malaria, except in some areas. The introduction of artemisinins, from the Chinese herb Artemisia annua, in the 1970s proved highly effective against malaria, but in the past decade, there have been increasing reports of malarial resistance against artemisinin. This is a worrying trend as artemisinins and its derivatives are currently the most effective anti-malarial against the disease, and if resistance becomes prevalent, there will be no effective therapy against malaria. This study has studied the resistance characteristics of an in vitro artemisinin-resistant strain of P. falciparum. The resistant strain exhibits a 100-fold higher IC50 value as compared to the negative control. The resistant strain also exhibits significant resistance to artesunate (14-fold increase), but not to dihydroartemisinin (5-fold increase). It is also observed that the strain is not cross-resistant to chloroquine, mefloquine, quinine and pyrimethamine.