Fungal Metabolite Asperaculane B Inhibits Malaria Infection and Transmission

• Main Authors: Guodong Niu, Yue Hao, Xiaohong Wang, Jin-Ming Gao, Jun Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: mosquito; malaria; transmission; FREP1; multiple functional drugs; fungal secondary metabolites
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/13/3018

Mosquito-transmitted <i>Plasmodium</i> parasites cause millions of people worldwide to suffer malaria every year. Drug-resistant <i>Plasmodium</i> parasites and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes make malaria hard to control. Thus, the next generation of antimalarial drugs that inhibit malaria infection and transmission are needed. We screened our Global Fungal Extract Library (GFEL) and obtained a candidate that completely inhibited <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> transmission to <i>Anopheles gambiae</i>. The candidate fungal strain was determined as <i>Aspergillus aculeatus</i>. The bioactive compound was purified and identified as asperaculane B. The concentration of 50% inhibition on<i> P. falciparum</i> transmission (IC₅₀) is 7.89 µM. Notably, asperaculane B also inhibited the development of asexual<i> P. falciparum</i> with IC₅₀ of 3 µM, and it is nontoxic to human cells. Therefore, asperaculane B is a new dual-functional antimalarial lead that has the potential to treat malaria and block malaria transmission.