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Latest TRPM7 Discovery Can Help Prevent Malaria

The most lethal form of malaria in humans is caused by Plasmodium falciparum. In collaboration with Dr. Alan Cowman’s (Melbourne) and Dr. David Horgen’s (Honolulu) group, a manuscript has just been accepted by eLIFE implicating TRPM7 as a target in malaria prevention. The work shows that TRPM7, the magnesium ion channel discovered by Dr. Fleig in 2001, enables parasite invasion in human erythrocytes. QCBR and collaborators have discovered waxenicin A as a specific blocker of TRPM7. By using that compound, parasite invasion is prevented in vitro.