Ion transport in the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum

疟疾是一种由单细胞原生动物寄生虫引起的传染病，这些寄生虫在其复杂的生命周期中侵入其人类宿主的红细胞。近年来，具有高度抗疟药耐药性的疟疾寄生虫的出现和传播，造成了一种非常现实的可能性，即在几年内，世界上大部分地区的疟疾将成为一种无法治愈的疾病。因此，迫切需要新的抗疟疾药物。尽管疟疾寄生虫具有巨大的临床意义，但这种有机体的基本生理学尚不清楚。参与离子平衡、摄取必需营养素和释放潜在有毒废物的途径都在寄生虫的生存中起着至关重要的作用，并且是潜在的化疗靶点。然而，到目前为止，这些途径的性质在很大程度上是未知的。这项工作将提供有关这些途径的基础（和药理学）信息。因此，它将为疟疾化疗开辟令人兴奋的新可能性，并将为一种战略提供合理的基础，在这种战略中，这些途径可能被利用为抗疟疾药物靶点。

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by single-cell protozoan parasites which, during the course of their complex lifecycle, invade the red blood cells of their human hosts. In recent years the emergence and spread of malaria parasites with high levels of antimalarial drug resistance has given rise to the very real possibility that within a few years, there will be large parts of the world in which malaria is an untreatable disease. There is therefore an urgent need for new antimalarial drugs. Despite the enormous clinical significance of the malaria parasite, the basic physiology of this organism is not understood. Pathways involved in ion balance, in the uptake of essential nutrients and in the release of potentially toxic waste products all play a crucial role in the survival of the parasite and are potential chemotherapeutic targets. However the properties of these pathways are, as yet, largely unknown. This work will provide fundamental (and pharmacological) information about these pathways. It will thereby open up exciting new possibilities with regard to the chemotherapy of malaria and will provide a rational basis for a strategy in which these pathways might be exploited as antimalarial drug targets.