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Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009.
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| Format: | Thesis |
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University of Pretoria
2013
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| _version_ | 1867613674486628352 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Birkholtz, Lyn-Marie |
| author_browse | Birkholtz, Lyn-Marie |
| author_facet | Birkholtz, Lyn-Marie |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2009, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretori |
| description | Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/28508 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:54.193Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateRange | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/28508 Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis Birkholtz, Lyn-Marie Louw, Abraham Izak upetd@up.ac.za Reeksting, S.B. (Shaun Bernard) Malaria parasite Pfspdsyn inhibitors Pfodc-adometdc inhibition Polyamine biosynthesis UCTD Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. Malaria, a disease transmitted by female mosquitoes, has plagued the world for many centuries. The disease is associated with high mortality rates, severe poverty, and economic burden. These are factors which hamper effective eradication of the disease. Drug resistant forms of the parasite have caused increasing concerns and questioned the longevity of current effective antimalarials. Efforts are therefore aimed at the identification and exploitation of essential parasite proteins as potential drug targets. The polyamine pathway of Plasmodium falciparum is an exploitable pathway which contains two distinct, chemically validated drug targets; a bifunctional PfAdoMetDC-ODC protein and PfSpdSyn. These enzymes ensure intricate regulation of polyamine production and the pathway contains various distinctive features which could be selectively targetable from the mammalian counterpart pathways. However, inhibition of polyamine production through the use of specific enzyme inhibitors has revealed various compensatory responses that negate the efficacy of these inhibitors. An account is given of the metabolomic fluctuations in the parasite during inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis. From co-inhibited P. falciparum extracts, it could be demonstrated that the characteristic growth-arrest coincided with the depletion in spermidine, the metabolic product of PfSpdSyn. The co-inhibition strategy therefore emphasised the importance of spermidine biosynthesis by PfSpdSyn. Moreover, adenosyl-related metabolite levels were not disrupted during polyamine depletion, supporting the notion that these metabolites are intricately recycled within the parasites. The identified metabolic compensatory mechanisms have further potential for exploitation, and can strategically be combined with polyamine biosynthesis inhibition to ensure parasitic attenuation. In addition, several novel inhibitors were previously computationally identified, based on a dynamic receptor-based pharmacophore model of PfSpdSyn. The in vitro inhibiting activity of these compounds was determined against PfSpdSyn. Results from the in vitro experiments supported the in silico predictions, and emphasized the supportive role of pharmacophore modelling has for the identification of novel inhibitors. The research contributed in understanding parasitic polyamine metabolite regulation, and will aid in the future optimization of therapeutic strategies, aimed at exploitation of the polyamine pathway as a potential antimalarial drug target. Copyright Biochemistry unrestricted 2013-09-07T13:38:50Z 2009-10-29 2013-09-07T13:38:50Z 2009-09-02 2009-10-29 2009-10-07 Dissertation Reeksting, SB, P 2009, Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis, MSc dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/ etd-10072009-162558/> C194/gm http://hdl.handle.net/2263/28508 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10072009-162558/ © 2009, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretori application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Malaria parasite Pfspdsyn inhibitors Pfodc-adometdc inhibition Polyamine biosynthesis UCTD Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis |
| title | Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis |
| title_full | Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis |
| title_fullStr | Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis |
| title_short | Metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis |
| title_sort | metabolomic analyses of the malaria parasite after inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis |
| topic | Malaria parasite Pfspdsyn inhibitors Pfodc-adometdc inhibition Polyamine biosynthesis UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/28508 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10072009-162558/ |