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Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles

Due to the development of drug-resistance by Plasmodium falciparum, the utilisation of chloroquine, a cheap and effective antimalarial has become limited. The mechanism of chloroquine-resistance is, at best, unresolved. This thesis describes an investigation of chloroquine accumulation in pure and i...

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Main Author: Saliba, Kevin John
Other Authors: Smith, Peter J
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Division of Clinical Pharmacology 2017
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access_status_str Open Access
author Saliba, Kevin John
author2 Smith, Peter J
author_browse Saliba, Kevin John
Smith, Peter J
author_facet Smith, Peter J
Saliba, Kevin John
author_sort Saliba, Kevin John
collection Thesis
description Due to the development of drug-resistance by Plasmodium falciparum, the utilisation of chloroquine, a cheap and effective antimalarial has become limited. The mechanism of chloroquine-resistance is, at best, unresolved. This thesis describes an investigation of chloroquine accumulation in pure and intact Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles, the site of chloroquine accumulation and action. Marker enzymes and gel electrophoresis were used to demonstrate purity, and electron microscopy to verify integrity of isolated vacuoles. Using this method, vacuoles were isolated in a yield high enough to enable characterisation of chloroquine accumulation in this organelle in terms of time-, temperature-, Mg²⁺-, pH-, ATP- and other nucleotide-dependence. The chloroquine accumulating capabilities of vacuoles isolated from chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine-sensitive parasites were compared. At an external chloroquine concentration of 100 and 250nM vacuoles isolated from two chloroquine-sensitive strains accumulated significantly more chloroquine (± 3 x) than those isolated from three of the four chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum tested. Although it is often suggested that the parasite digestive vacuole is involved in the mechanism of chloroquine-resistance, this is the first direct evidence to suggest this. Vacuolar proton pump inhibitors, proton gradient dissipaters, P-glycoprotein ATPase- and drug transport-inhibitors, weak bases, and structural analogues of chloroquine were used to examine the driving force of chloroquine accumulation in the isolated food vacuole. A pH gradient between the vacuole and cytoplasm is necessary to retain chloroquine in this organelle, but a chloroquine transport mechanism appears to be the main driving force in chloroquine accumulation. A polyclonal antibody directed at Pgh1, a Plasmodium falciparum homologue of P-glycoprotein, confirmed its presence on the vacuole, but was unable to inhibit chloroquine accumulation in isolated vacuoles. This thesis also shows that agents, such as verapamil, which are able to reverse chloroquine-resistance by increasing chloroquine accumulation in parasitised erythrocytes, are unable to increase chloroquine accumulation in the isolated vacuole, suggesting the involvement of an alternate site for the reversal of chloroquine-resistance.
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language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2017
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/26631 Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles Saliba, Kevin John Smith, Peter J Pharmacology Due to the development of drug-resistance by Plasmodium falciparum, the utilisation of chloroquine, a cheap and effective antimalarial has become limited. The mechanism of chloroquine-resistance is, at best, unresolved. This thesis describes an investigation of chloroquine accumulation in pure and intact Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles, the site of chloroquine accumulation and action. Marker enzymes and gel electrophoresis were used to demonstrate purity, and electron microscopy to verify integrity of isolated vacuoles. Using this method, vacuoles were isolated in a yield high enough to enable characterisation of chloroquine accumulation in this organelle in terms of time-, temperature-, Mg²⁺-, pH-, ATP- and other nucleotide-dependence. The chloroquine accumulating capabilities of vacuoles isolated from chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine-sensitive parasites were compared. At an external chloroquine concentration of 100 and 250nM vacuoles isolated from two chloroquine-sensitive strains accumulated significantly more chloroquine (± 3 x) than those isolated from three of the four chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum tested. Although it is often suggested that the parasite digestive vacuole is involved in the mechanism of chloroquine-resistance, this is the first direct evidence to suggest this. Vacuolar proton pump inhibitors, proton gradient dissipaters, P-glycoprotein ATPase- and drug transport-inhibitors, weak bases, and structural analogues of chloroquine were used to examine the driving force of chloroquine accumulation in the isolated food vacuole. A pH gradient between the vacuole and cytoplasm is necessary to retain chloroquine in this organelle, but a chloroquine transport mechanism appears to be the main driving force in chloroquine accumulation. A polyclonal antibody directed at Pgh1, a Plasmodium falciparum homologue of P-glycoprotein, confirmed its presence on the vacuole, but was unable to inhibit chloroquine accumulation in isolated vacuoles. This thesis also shows that agents, such as verapamil, which are able to reverse chloroquine-resistance by increasing chloroquine accumulation in parasitised erythrocytes, are unable to increase chloroquine accumulation in the isolated vacuole, suggesting the involvement of an alternate site for the reversal of chloroquine-resistance. 2017-12-14T09:35:03Z 2017-12-14T09:35:03Z 1997 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26631 eng application/pdf Division of Clinical Pharmacology Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Pharmacology
Saliba, Kevin John
Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles
title_full Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles
title_fullStr Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles
title_full_unstemmed Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles
title_short Chloroquine accumulation in Plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles
title_sort chloroquine accumulation in plasmodium falciparum isolated digestive vacuoles
topic Pharmacology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26631
work_keys_str_mv AT salibakevinjohn chloroquineaccumulationinplasmodiumfalciparumisolateddigestivevacuoles