Altered membrane transport of malaria-infected erythrocytes: A possible pharmacologic target

Abstract

Classical and novel approaches to the treatment of malaria will be discussed with a review of the current concepts of the mode of action of established antimalarials and the biochemical basis of drug resistance. Reflecting the search for new concepts in drug development, this report focuses on discrete alterations in the permeability of the RBC membrane that occur as a result of intracellular parasite growth. The host-cell membrane is an obvious target for differential drug action because it provides various new routes for the bidirectional traffic of material needed for parasite subsistence, some of which can be affected by drugs, while others can serve as access routes for cytotoxic drugs otherwise impermeant to uninfected cells.