ReviewParasites & vectors2026
Targeting protein-protein interactions in Plasmodium: from asexual replication to sexual development.
Review in Parasites & vectors, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMalaria, a life-threatening protozoan disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and transmitted by mosquitoes, remains a global public health crisis. The 2025 World Malaria Report recorded 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024, with global elimination goals severely hampered by widespread insecticide resistance and the rapid spread of artemisinin-resistant parasites. Conventional antimalarials primarily target enzyme catalytic sites, which are vulnerable to resistance via single point mutations with minimal parasite fitness cost. In contrast, core Plasmodium biological processes-from erythrocyte invasion and intracellular survival to host-to-vector transmission-are tightly governed by conserved protein-protein interactions. These interfaces have far lower mutational potential, require cooperative compensatory mutations for resistance emergence, and offer high species selectivity, making them promising next-generation drug targets.
methodsThis review systematically synthesizes recent structural and functional advances in key multi-subunit complexes driving the Plasmodium life cycle, with a focus on asexual stages of P. falciparum and sexual development of P. berghei and P. yoelii. We integrate insights from cryo-electron microscopy, proximity-dependent biotinylation technologies, and advanced genetic manipulation, and critically evaluate emerging PPI-targeted therapeutic and transmission-blocking intervention strategies.
resultsWe delineate the architecture and druggable vulnerabilities of core PPI networks mediating merozoite invasion, intraerythrocytic nutrient uptake, metabolic homeostasis, transcriptional regulation, proteostasis, and merozoite egress in asexual stages. We further dissect PPI networks governing sexual commitment, gametogenesis, fertilization, and mosquito transmission, and summarize the preclinical and clinical development progress of PPI-targeted neutralizing antibodies, vaccine candidates, and small-molecule inhibitors.
conclusionTargeting key Plasmodium PPI interfaces is a robust, evolutionarily constrained strategy for developing resistance-resilient antimalarials. Technological advances are overcoming the "undruggable" challenges of PPI targets, and this approach holds immense potential to address antimalarial resistance and advance global malaria elimination.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.