Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32968076›Full record

ArticleNature communications2020

Genetic screens reveal a central role for heme metabolism in artemisinin susceptibility.

Clare R Harding, Saima M Sidik, Boryana Petrova, Nina F Gnädig, John Okombo, Alice L Herneisen, Kurt E Ward, Benedikt M Markus, Elizabeth A Boydston, David A Fidock and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed
6.3field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 74 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  4. Review
  5. Bio-protocol · 2026
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  9. The essential genome ofScience (New York, N.Y.) · 2025
    Article
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  17. Review
  18. SPARK regulates AGC kinases central to thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.

Clare R Harding *Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Saima M Sidik *Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Boryana Petrova *Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nina F GnädigDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
John OkomboDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Alice L HerneisenWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3368-0893
Kurt E WardDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3614-436X
Benedikt M MarkusWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6823-9072
Elizabeth A BoydstonWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8365-0436
David A FidockDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6753-8938
Sebastian LouridoWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA. lourido@wi.mit.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5237-1095
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research · USColumbia University Irving Medical Center · USUniversity of Freiburg · DEWellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology · GB

Funding

Defining P. falciparum resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapiesR01AI109023 · NIAID · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI FIDOCK, DAVID A · 2014 to 2025
$4.4M
Dissecting essential signaling pathways in apicomplexan parasitesDP5OD017892 · OD · WHITEHEAD INSTITUTE FOR BIOMEDICAL RES · PI LOURIDO, SEBASTIAN · 2013 to 2017
$2.4M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI109023NIH HHS DP5 OD017892Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 103972/Z/14/ZWellcome Trust 213455/Z/18/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Artemisinins have revolutionized the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria; however, resistance threatens to undermine global control efforts. To broadly explore artemisinin susceptibility in apicomplexan parasites, we employ genome-scale CRISPR screens recently developed for Toxoplasma gondii to discover sensitizing and desensitizing mutations. Using a sublethal concentration of dihydroartemisinin (DHA), we uncover the putative transporter Tmem14c whose disruption increases DHA susceptibility. Screens performed under high doses of DHA provide evidence that mitochondrial metabolism can modulate resistance. We show that disrupting a top candidate from the screens, the mitochondrial protease DegP2, lowers porphyrin levels and decreases DHA susceptibility, without significantly altering parasite fitness in culture. Deleting the homologous gene in P. falciparum, PfDegP, similarly lowers heme levels and DHA susceptibility. These results expose the vulnerability of heme metabolism to genetic perturbations that can lead to increased survival in the presence of DHA.

Indexed as

AntimalarialsArtemisininsClustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic RepeatsDrug ResistanceGene Knockout TechniquesGenetic TestingHemeHumansMalaria, FalciparumMembrane Transport ProteinsMutationPlasmodium falciparumProtozoan ProteinsToxoplasmaAntimalarialsartemisininArtemisininsartenimolHemeMembrane Transport ProteinsProtozoan Proteins

Identifiers

PMID32968076
PMCPMC7511413
OpenAlexW3088652243

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.