ArticleNature communications2015
Haem-activated promiscuous targeting of artemisinin in Plasmodium falciparum.
Article in Nature communications, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 275 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
275 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 631 citations in OpenAlex.
- Promising Drug Repurposing Candidates Targeting Free-Living Amoebae: A Systematic and Critical Review of Laboratory-Based Evidence.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- How has mass drug administration with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine impacted molecular markers of drug resistance? A systematic review.Malaria journal · 2022Pooled it
- Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and drug resistance molecular markers: A systematic review of clinical studies from two malaria endemic regions - India and sub-Saharan Africa.International journal for parasitology. Drugs and drug resistance · 2021Pooled it
- Metabolites from Marine Sponges and Their Potential to Treat Malarial Protozoan Parasites Infection: A Systematic Review.Marine drugs · 2021Pooled it
- Review
- Article
- Integrated Scaffold Redesign and iPSC-Based Screening Reveal Potent Antifibrotic Artemisinin Analogs in Systemic Sclerosis Models.ACS central science · 2026Article
- PfATG18 links V-ATPase assembly to endocytic membrane dynamics in malaria parasites.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Structure-Activity Relationship Study of Antimalarial Asparagine-Derived Proteasome Inhibitors.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Dietary Artemisia annua leaf powder modulates intestinal response and cecal microbiota of broiler chickens during peak Eimeria infection.Poultry science · 2026Article
- Aminopeptidase Inhibition in Drug-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum: Structural, Functional, and Pharmacological Rationale for Targeting PfA-M1 and PfA-M17.ChemMedChem · 2026Review
- Gambogic acid induces cell death via covalent binding with PRDX1 to regulate ER stress and autophagy.Chinese medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- Progress and application of activity-based protein profiling for the discovery of natural product targets.Molecular diversity · 2026Review
- Is heme metabolism a promising drug target in Toxoplasma gondii?PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Intracellular Activation of Dual-Pharmacophore Artezomib Enhances Selective Cytotoxicity in Hematologic Malignancies.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Why are iron chelators not as effective as artemisinin in killing malaria parasites?Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Cellular and molecular basis of PfCoronin function in artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Russian Dolls of Heme Metabolism in Malaria-Infected Red Blood Cells: Nested Vulnerabilities and Therapeutic Opportunities.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Antifungal Activity and Biochemical Mechanisms of Artemisinin Against the PhytopathogenInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
215 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The mechanism of action of artemisinin and its derivatives, the most potent of the anti-malarial drugs, is not completely understood. Here we present an unbiased chemical proteomics analysis to directly explore this mechanism in Plasmodium falciparum. We use an alkyne-tagged artemisinin analogue coupled with biotin to identify 124 artemisinin covalent binding protein targets, many of which are involved in the essential biological processes of the parasite. Such a broad targeting spectrum disrupts the biochemical landscape of the parasite and causes its death. Furthermore, using alkyne-tagged artemisinin coupled with a fluorescent dye to monitor protein binding, we show that haem, rather than free ferrous iron, is predominantly responsible for artemisinin activation. The haem derives primarily from the parasite's haem biosynthesis pathway at the early ring stage and from haemoglobin digestion at the latter stages. Our results support a unifying model to explain the action and specificity of artemisinin in parasite killing.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.