Effects of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor Purvalanol B application on protein expression and developmental progression in intra-erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum parasites

Background: The 2013 Malaria World Report indicated that in 2012 there were approximately 207 million cases of malaria, which resulted in an estimated 627,000 malaria-related deaths. Due to the alarming resistance of these parasites to traditional anti-malarial treatments there is a pressing need to not only identify new anti-malarial compounds, but also to characterize the effect of compounds known to have an effect on the Parasite life cycle. This study reports on effects of kinase inhibitor Purvalanol B administration on the growth and protein expression of Plasmodium falciparum late-stage trophozoites.

Methods: A SYBR® Green I Parasite growth assay was used to measure the IC50 of Purvalanol B with P. falciparum (strain W2). Purvalanol B or DMSO control were applied to synchronized parasites 36 hours post invasion and parasites were incubated for 12 hours. Giemsa-stained blood smears were used to determine the effect of Purvalanol B on Parasite growth, global quantitative proteomic analysis was used to examine differences in protein expression between Purvalanol B-treated and control parasites and results were confirmed by qPCR.

Results: There were no differences in parasitaemia between inhibitor-treated and control parasites. However, the ability of Purvalanol B-treated parasites to form schizonts was significantly reduced. Proteomic analysis detected 76 human proteins and 518 P. falciparum proteins (63 in control cultures only, 56 proteins in Purvalanol B cultures only, and 399 proteins in both cultures). Quantitative analysis of protein extracts revealed eight proteins that were up-regulated in the inhibitor-treated cultures, including several components of the parasite's Proteasome complex and thioredoxin reductase. Two proteins appeared to be down-regulated, including a helicase and an RNA-binding protein.

Conclusion: Purvalanol B application decreases the ability of late-stage P. falciparum trophozoites to form multinucleated schizonts and up-regulates Proteasome subunits and proteins that contribute to redox homeostasis, which may indicate an increase in oxidative stress as a result of inhibitor application. While the efficacy of Purvalanol B is relatively low for use as an anti-malarial therapy, quantitative proteomic analysis may serve as a method of examining the action of drugs on the Parasite and indicate the likelihood of future resistance development.