Channels and transporters as drug targets in the Plasmodium-infected erythrocyte

Throughout the intraerythrocytic phase of its lifecycle the malaria parasite is separated from the extracellular medium by the plasma membrane of its host erythrocyte and by the parasitophorous vacuole in which the parasite is enclosed. The intracellular parasite itself has, at its surface, a plasma membrane, and has a variety of membrane-bound organelles which carry out a range of biochemical functions. Each of the various membranes of the infected cell have in them proteins that facilitate the movement of molecules and ions from one side of the membrane to the other. These ‘channels’ and ‘transporters’ play a central role in the physiology of the parasitised cell. From a clinical viewpoint they are of interest both as potential targets in their own right, and as potential drug targeting routes capable of mediating the entry of cytotoxic drugs into the appropriate compartment of the infected cell. In this review both of these aspects are considered.