Atovaquone tolerance in plasmodium falciparum parasites selected for high-level resistance to a dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitor

Jennifer L. Guler, John White, Margaret A. Phillips, Pradipsinh K. Rathoda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Atovaquone is a component of Malarone, a widely prescribed antimalarial combination, that targets malaria respiration. Here we show that parasites with high-level resistance to an inhibitor of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase demonstrate unexpected atovaquone tolerance. Fortunately, the tolerance is diminished with proguanil, the second partner in Malarone. It is important to understand such "genetic cross talk" between respiration and pyrimidine biosynthesis since many antimalarial drug development programs target these two seemingly independent pathways.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)686-689
Number of pages4
JournalAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy
Volume59
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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