A Second Mechanism Employed by Artemisinins to Suppress Plasmodium Falciparum Hinges on Inhibition of Hematin Crystallization
Malaria is a pervasive disease that affects millions of lives each year in equatorial regions of the world. During the erythrocytic phase of the parasite life cycle, Plasmodium falciparum invade red blood cells, where they catabolize hemoglobin and sequester the released toxic heme as innocuous hemozoin crystals. Artemisinin-class drugs are activated in vivo by newly-released heme, which creates a carbon-centered radical that markedly reduces parasite density.