Regulation of actin polymerization during malaria parasite invasion of the human erythrocyte

疟疾寄生虫依靠红细胞的成功入侵来生存。入侵是由一种基于两种关键蛋白质的分子马达驱动的：肌动蛋白和肌凝蛋白。非特异性药物抑制寄生虫肌动蛋白阻断入侵，证明其调节对寄生虫的成功是多么重要。该项目将研究几个新发现的疟疾肌动蛋白调节因子，旨在确定新的药物靶点，这些靶点将阻断疟疾肌动蛋白的功能，停止运动，从而预防疾病。

Malaria parasites depend on successful invasion of red blood cells for their survival. Invasion is powered by a molecular motor based on two key proteins: actin and myosin. Non-specific drugs that inhibit parasite actin block invasion, demonstrating how important its regulation is to parasite success. This project will study several newly identified malaria actin-regulators, aiming to identify new drug targets that will block malaria actin function, stop motility and as such prevent disease.