Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Malria: diagnosis,
treatment and prevention
- Diagnosis
- Microscopy
- thin or thick blood films
- Can tell four species apart
- Antigen
- Cannot distinguish between all types of malaria
- Serves as a rapid diagnostic tool
- PCR
- Expensive
- Treatment
- Quinine-based drugs
- Act within the food vacuole
- Quinine
- 1st treatment available for malaria
- Natural medicine
- Peruvian mexicans chewed the bark
of the Cinchona plant to treat malaria
- Earkly 1600's it was used by the catholic
missionaries (called it "Jesuit's powder")
- Purified in 1817 - Pelletier and Caventou
- First pharmaceutical agent = 4-methanol quinolone
- Could cause cinchonism
- Blurred vision, nausea, vomitting,
imparied hearing and dizziness
- Active against RBC stage malaria
- Effective against chloroquine-resistant malaria
- Found in tonic water
- Pharmacokinetics
- Absorption
- Oral
- Distribution
- 70% is bound to protein
- Elimination
- Redily metabolised in liver (~80%)
- Metabolites inactive
- 20% in urine
- Half life of ~18hrs
- Chloroquine
- 4-aminoquninolone
- Artificial analogue of quinine
- Developed in 1940's
- Cheap, stable and no serious side effects
- Active against RBC stages
- Used extensively in 60's and 70's (during erradication campaign)
- Lead to massive levels of resistance
- e.g. in Vietnam etc.
- No other anti-malarial has come close
- Pharmacokinetcs
- Absorption
- Oral
- Distribution
- 50-60% protein bound
- Elimination
- Partially metabolised in liver in to
active de-ethylated metabolites
- Excreted in urine unchanged (45%) - but slowly
- Half life = 1-2 months
- MOA of Qunine and Chloroquine
- e.g. during ring-stage
- Parasite trophozoite requires haemoglobin (Hb) to survive
- Hb taken up by cytosome (endocytosis) uptake
-> transport vesicles - > fuse with food vacuole
- Hb in food vacuole
- Hb broken down to release amino acids (released
into cytoplasm) and haematin (kept in food vacuole)
- AA's used by cell
- Haematin (toxic to parasite) is crystallised
to form haemozoin (inert, non-reactive)
- Two haematin molecules dimerised with a
propionate group of one haematin interacting with
the Fe ion of a second (this de-toxfies the Fe)
- These dimers form crystalline structures
with other dimers -> haemozoin
- Seen as the second solid structure during
the ring phase (the other one is the nucleus)
- Dimer =
4-beta
haematin
- Fe(3+) ion of haematin
can generate free radicals
- Quinine and chloroquine
accumulate in the food vacuole
- Prevent the formation of haemozoin
crystals -> haematin builds up, generates
free radicals and kills the parasite
- In the 60's chloroquine was
heralded as a major success
- However chloroquine
resistance was observed
as early as 1959 in SE
Asia and S. America
- Since then chloroquine resistance has spread to
all endemic areas (1957 - spread through asia and
oceana, 1959-60 spread through S. America)
- In 1978 resistance from Asia spread
throughout sub saharan africa
- Resistance now common
- Molecular basis for resistance
- chloeroquine resistance develops slowly
- Spectrum (low-high) resistance seen
- Suggestions mechanism of resistance is complex
- Resistance at target
level (unlikely)
- Target is haematin
(synthesised by host - Hb)
- Cannot be altered by parasite)
- Resistance at
drug level (likely)
- Less chloroqunine retained in parasite
- Either; reduced uptake or drug efflux
- In low-medium resistant strains
- Mutations detected (by PCR and sequencing)
in parasite protein PfCRT (P. falciparum
chloroquine resistance transporter)
- PfCRT is found in the
membrane of the food vacuole
- Features 10 transmembrane domains
- Resistance-conferring mutatin (K76T)
is localised in a region of the protein
involved in substrate selectivity
- Mutation: K76T is a key diagnostic
tool for resistance detection
- In non-resistant strains
food-vacuolar chloroquine is
positively charged (protonated)
due to the low pH
- The lysine (K) residue at position 76
features a positive side chain which
physically repels the chloroquine
molecule - preventing its escape)
- Hence its accumulation
to x20,000 the level of
the plasma chloroquine
concentration
- The mutation of K to threonine (T) at
position 76 means that chloroquine is
removed from the food vacuole as
threonine has an uncharged side chain
- Chloroquine is eliminated from the food
vacuole via PfCRT (efflux pump)
- In higher resistance strains
- Feature additional mutaiotns to K76T in PfCRT
- Resistance can be enhanced by a
mutation in a second gene PfMDR
(P.falciparum multi druig resistance)
- PfMDR is an ABC (ATP-binding casette) transporter
- group of membrane transporter proteins
- MDRs in other organisms function
to export hydrphobic drugs and
indirectly regulate ionic gradients
- MDRs are
responsible for
drug resistance
in cancer cells
- The Ca(2+) channel blocker
verapamil (which reverses
resistance of mammalian cells to
anti-cancer cells) reverses
chloroquine resistance
- PfMDR contains 12 transmembrane domains (TMDs)
- ATP interacting loops
- PfMDR (like the PfCRT) is located in the membrane of the food vacuole
- There are several known mutations unique
to different geographical resistant strains
- E.g. N86Y (Africa);
S1034C, N1042D
and D1246Y (S.
America)
- ALL RESISTANT
STRAINS FEATURE
K76T!!!
- The acidity of the food vacuole causes chloroquine
to accumulate (due to protination -> become
charged) to x20,000 the plasma [chloroquine]
- Mefloquine
- Used in cases of
chloroquine-resistant
malaria
- Absorption
- Oral
- Distribution
- Can cross the BBB
(cerebral malaria)
- Side effects
- Experienced in 1:10,000 patients
(psychological effects, seizures,
motor and CNS problems
- MOA is unknonw
- In food vacuole like
other quinines?
- Resistance newly emerging (SE Asia)
- different mechanism to chloroquine
- Molecular basis of mefloquine resistance
- Requires wild type PfMDR1
- Mutation in PfMDR actually
causes mefloquine sensitivity
- Mutation associated with overexpression of wild type PfMDR
- Can remove mefloquine faster from the food vacuole
- So mefloquine resistance occurs by a
different method to chloroquine resistance
- Amplification of
PfMDR (mefloquine)
- Mutataion in PfMDR
(chloroquine)
- Non-quinolone-based
drugs
- Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine
combinational
therapy
- Second-line treatment in
chloroquine resistance
(after mefloquine)
- Active against the
asexual cycle merozoite ->
trophozoite -> merozoite
- Side effects
- (Rare) death from drug-induce dermatological
conditions (toxic epidermal necrolysis; or
Steven-Johnson syndrome (SJS)
- Many milder side effects: rash,
photosensitivity, blood disorders
(aplastic anaeamia,
agranulocytosis), liver/lung damage
- Absorption
- Single oral dose (3 tablets for adults)
- Distribution
- 90% is protein-bound
- both cross the placental barrier and pass into the breast milk
- Pyrimethamine concentrates in blood cells (red
and white) and crosses into the CNS fluids
- Elimination
- <5% of each drug is metabolised
- both excreted in urine (long half lives - both >100 hrs)
- MOA
- Targets multiple enzymes of
the folate synthesis pathway
- Drugs act
synergistically
(complimentary)
- Reduce folate levels -> folate is essential
for nucleotide (DNA) synthesis and
metabolism of certain amino acids
- Humans lack components of
this pathway and therefore
rely on the diet for folate
- Sulfadoxine
- Type 1 anti-folate
- para-aminobenzioc acid (PABA) analogue
- Necessary in
folate synthesis
- Target: Dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) - missing in humans
- Competitive inhibition
- In Plasmodium, DHPS is part of a bifunctional enzyme
with dihydroptero pyrophosphokinase = PPPK-DHPS
- Pyrimethamine
- Type 2 anti-folate
- Pyrimidine containing compound
- Target: Dihydrofolate reductase
(DHFR) - present in humans
- Competitive inhibition
- Pyrimethamine binds x7,000 more strongly to
DHFR than dihydro folate (natural substrate)
- In Plasmodium DHFR is in copmplex with another enzyme thymidylate synthase (TS)
- Resistance
- Basis of resistance due to difference
in activity (pyrimethamine is more
active than sulfadoxine)
- Due to point mutations in
their respective enzymes
- Firstly in DHFR-TS (only
DHFR domain affected)
- Then in PPPK-DHPS (only
DHPS domain affected)
- After four mutations in DHFR (above) - A437G;
and K540E cause sulfadoxine resistance
- Diagnostic mutation = S108N
(always present in resistant strains)
- causes 100 fold increase in resistance
- Secondary mutations cause
increased resistance (e.g.
N51I; C59R; I164L)
- Atovaquone
- Part of a combinational therapy (with proguanil -
another Type 2 antifolate inhibitor [targets DHFR])
- Active against liver
and RBC stages
- Casual prophylaxis
(taken 1 day before
travel)
- Pharmacokinetics
- Absorption
- Oral (standard
malarone tablet)
- Distribution
- 99% binds to serum albumin
(extremely lipophilic)
- Elimination
- Not metabolised (slowly
excreted in faeces, little in
urine - half life = 48-72hrs)
- Side effects
- Very
few
- Trade name = Malarone
- MOA
- Analogue of ubiquinone
- Ubiquinone: shuttles electrons from complexes 1
and 2 of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway
to complex 3 (cytochrome b)
- Atovaquone inhibts the passing of electrons to (reduction of) complex 3 in the ETC
- Inhibits proton gradient production -> ATP production
- Resistance
- Can only arise through a point mutation (Y268N or Y268S) in the gene encoding cytochrome b
- Resistance is rare when using Malarone combinational therapy - first case reported in 2002
- Tyrosine (Y) is a bulky hydrophilic amino acid
that interacts with the hydrophobic atovaquone
- Substitution to a less bulky
asparagine (N) or serine (S) causes
a loss of drug binding ability
- Doxycycline
- Absorption
- Oral
- Distribution
- 90%
drug in
plasma
- Elimination
- Not metabolised
- Excreted in
urine/faeces
- Half life = 18hrs
- MOA
- Site of action is the apicoplast
(prokaryote remenant that resembles
a chloroplast - non-photosynthetic)
- Inhibits cell growth by inhibiting
translation in the apicoplast
- Stops cell growth - doesnt kill
- Broad spectrum antibiotic
- Used as prophylaxis
- Active against asexual cycle
- Resistance not yet reported
- Artemisinin
- From leaves of Artemesia annua
- Problem with supply
- Not enough
plant
material can
be grown for
demmand
- Made from a series of isoprene
units with a peroxide bond
- Pharmacokinetics poorly understood
(oral bioavailability is poor)
- Synthetic compounds (Artesunsate) produced
with increased H2O solubility - can be injected
- Active against ring stage
- Used against MDR malaria
- Evidence of resistance in Cambodia already
- The way forward?
- Artemisinin combinational therapy with...
- Amodiaquine
- Active against all forms of malaria
(falciparum, vivax, ovale, malariae)
- Active against chloroquine resistant strains
- >20 million cases of
malaria treated as of (2009)
- ...Mefloquine
- Reduced mefloquine side effects
- WHO advise use for
uncomplicated
falciparum infection
- Not cosidered suitable
for first line treatment
in African malaria
- MOA
- Uknown whether one or multiple drug targets(?)
- Inhibiton of food
vacuole cysteine
protease activity
- Damage to
parasite's ETC in
the mitochondria
- Irreversible inhibition
with an ATPase (PfATP6)
that pumps Ca(2+) from
the cytoplasm into the ER
- Three points of malarial chemotherapy
- stage to target
- Sporozoite
- Liver schizont
- Merozoite
- Trophozoite (ring stage)
- RBC schizont
- In host
- Liver
- Blood
- Species
- P. falciparum
- P. vivax
- P. ovale
- P. malariae
- Anatomy of the infected RBC
- RBC
- Parasite (cytoplasm)
- Site of action for
sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine
(combinational therapy)
- Digestive (food)
vacuole
- The food vacuole is the site of
action for quinine-base drugs
- Nucleus
- Mitochondrion
- Atovaquone targets the mitochonrion
- Apicoplast
- Apicoplast: target for doxycycline
- Cytosome
uptake of
haemoglobin
- Prevention
- Insecticide sprays - control of adult and larval stages
- Particularly around breeding
grounds (still water)
- Ecological considerations
- Mosquito nets
- Contain insecticide
- Cheap and insecticide is "contained"
- Prophylactic treatment
- Control of mosquito population (introduction of sterile males)
- Drainage and removal of breeding grounds
- Ecological considerations