Innocent ONYESOM
Delta State University,Nigeria
Title: Molecular Modulation of Pf70-1: A Plasmodium falciparum Cytosolic Hsp70 Chaperone
Biography
Biography: Innocent ONYESOM
Abstract
With approximately 225 million individual infected and an estimated 780 thousand deaths annually (largely among African children), Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains one of the world’s most devasting diseases.The cytosolic Plasmodium falciparum heat shock protein 70-1 (PfHsp70-1) has been observed to promote plasmodial growth and survival in human host. In this study, PfHsp70-1 was cloned , expressed and purified from E. coli using recombinant techniques. Then, the effects of methylene blue (MB) on the ATPase and aggregation suppression activities of PfHsp70-1 were investigated. Results show that MB inhibited (54%) PfHsp70-1ATPase activity, altered its thermal stability and responsiveness to ATP molecule. MB also affected the chaperone (aggregation suppression) function of PfHsp70-1. While confirming the antimalaria ability of MB, data also implicate PfHsp70-1 as drugable target for the development of novel antimalaria agents for possible chemotherapeutic application.