A Search for Inhibitors of HGXPRT Using Protein Thermal Shift Assays
Session Number
Project ID: BIO 27
Advisor(s)
Dr. Angela Ahrendt; Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Discipline
Biology
Start Date
22-4-2020 10:05 AM
End Date
22-4-2020 10:20 AM
Abstract
Malaria is a bloodborne disease primarily spread by mosquitoes. In 2017, there were an estimated 217 million cases of malaria worldwide, many of which were in third-world countries. Even though there are drugs that can combat malaria, they are not accessible to most consumers in need because of their high cost and, even if a consumer can access these drugs, they have low efficacy rates. HGXPRT is a purine salvage enzyme synthesized by malaria-causing parasites that is essential for their survival. Studies conducted in the past have concluded that neutralizing HGXPRT is an essential part of finding an affordable cure for malaria. This study focused on introducing different molecular compounds to HGXPRT to find a potential drug to combat malaria. The effectiveness of each one was tested through a protein thermal shift assay, in which a shift in the melting temperature between the free enzyme and the enzyme-compound mixture indicated that the enzyme was binding to the compound. The goal of this study was to identify specific compounds as potential drugs to combat malaria and to provide the scientific community with this data.
A Search for Inhibitors of HGXPRT Using Protein Thermal Shift Assays
Malaria is a bloodborne disease primarily spread by mosquitoes. In 2017, there were an estimated 217 million cases of malaria worldwide, many of which were in third-world countries. Even though there are drugs that can combat malaria, they are not accessible to most consumers in need because of their high cost and, even if a consumer can access these drugs, they have low efficacy rates. HGXPRT is a purine salvage enzyme synthesized by malaria-causing parasites that is essential for their survival. Studies conducted in the past have concluded that neutralizing HGXPRT is an essential part of finding an affordable cure for malaria. This study focused on introducing different molecular compounds to HGXPRT to find a potential drug to combat malaria. The effectiveness of each one was tested through a protein thermal shift assay, in which a shift in the melting temperature between the free enzyme and the enzyme-compound mixture indicated that the enzyme was binding to the compound. The goal of this study was to identify specific compounds as potential drugs to combat malaria and to provide the scientific community with this data.