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PXD002611

PXD002611 is an original dataset announced via ProteomeXchange.

Dataset Summary
TitleHeme-activated Promiscuous Targeting of Artemisinin in Plasmodium falciparum
DescriptionPlasmodium falciparum, the most pathogenic human malaria parasite, infects millions of human beings and causes a serious public health threat. Currently, the most potent anti-malarial drugs are artemisinin and its derivatives1,2. Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone with an endoperoxide bridge3. The activation of artemisinin requires the cleavage of the endoperoxide bridge in the presence of iron sources4. Once activated, artemisinins are converted into highly reactive carbon-centered radicals5,6 that attack macromolecules through alkylation and propagate a series of damages, eventually leading to parasite death7,8. Even though several parasite proteins have been reported as the targets of artemisinin9,10, the exact mechanism of artemisinin action is still controversial and its high potency and specificity against the malaria parasite could not be fully accounted. Here, we have developed an unbiased chemical proteomics approach to directly probe the mechanism of action of artemisinin in P. falciparum in situ. An alkyne-tagged artemisinin analogue coupled with biotin enables selective purification and identification of 124 artemisinin covalent-binding protein targets, many of which are involved in essential biological processes of the parasite. In vitro assays confirm the specific artemisinin binding and inhibition of selected targets. Such a broad targeting spectrum disrupts the biochemical landscape of the parasite and causes its death. Furthermore, using the alkyne-tagged artemisinin coupled with a fluorescent dye to monitor its protein binding, we showed that heme, rather than free ferrous iron, is predominantly responsible for artemisinin activation. The extremely high level of heme released from the hemoglobin digestion by the parasite make artemisinin exceptionally potent against late-stage parasites (trophozoite and schizont stages) compared to parasites at early ring stage, which have low level of heme, mainly from endogenous synthesis. The ‘blood eating’ nature of the parasite with the release of large amounts of heme confers artemisinin with extremely high specificity against the parasites, with minimum side effects towards healthy red blood cells. Taken together, our results established a unifying model to explain the action and specificity of artemisinin in parasite killing. Our findings could facilitate the development of better alternative strategies to treat malaria in times of emerging artemisinin resistance11,12.
HostingRepositoryPRIDE
AnnounceDate2015-12-17
AnnouncementXMLSubmission_2016-01-05_15:12:46.xml
DigitalObjectIdentifier
ReviewLevelPeer-reviewed dataset
DatasetOriginOriginal dataset
RepositorySupportUnsupported dataset by repository
PrimarySubmitterQingsong Lin
SpeciesList scientific name: Plasmodium falciparum (isolate 3D7); NCBI TaxID: 36329;
ModificationListmonohydroxylated residue; acetylated residue; methylthiolated residue
InstrumentTripleTOF 5600
Dataset History
RevisionDatetimeStatusChangeLog Entry
02015-07-28 01:17:10ID requested
12015-12-17 00:38:42announced
22016-01-05 15:12:47announcedUpdated publication reference for PubMed record(s): 26694030.
Publication List
Wang J, Zhang CJ, Chia WN, Loh CC, Li Z, Lee YM, He Y, Yuan LX, Lim TK, Liu M, Liew CX, Lee YQ, Zhang J, Lu N, Lim CT, Hua ZC, Liu B, Shen HM, Tan KS, Lin Q, Haem-activated promiscuous targeting of artemisinin in Plasmodium falciparum. Nat Commun, 6():10111(2015) [pubmed]
Keyword List
curator keyword: Biomedical
submitter keyword: Artemisinin, chemical proteomics, target, mechanism of action
Contact List
Dr Lin Qingsong
contact affiliationDepartment of Bioloigcal Science, National University of Singapore
contact emaildbslinqs@nus.edu.sg
lab head
Qingsong Lin
contact affiliationBiological Sciences
contact emaildbslinqs@nus.edu.sg
dataset submitter
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Dataset FTP location
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