New vitamin research ‘to uncover malaria treatment pathways’

UK researchers are conducting new studies into vitamins that will help to uncover new ways of treating malaria.

The University of Southampton has been able to utilise atomic 3D structures to describe the malarial enzymes responsible for vitamin B6 biosynthesis, a key process involved in the propagation of the disease.

Using electron microscopy, researchers have been able to assess the unexpected enzyme complex of 24 protein subunits that power this process, providing insights into how new malaria drugs could be developed.

Dr Ivo Tews, lecturer in structural biology at the University of Southampton, said: "The new data is a starting point for the development of specific inhibitors that target either the enzyme's active sites or the assembly of the proteins into functional complexes."

World Health Organization data shows that malaria causes a million deaths globally each year.

Earlier this month, a team from the Wellcome Trust-funded Malaria Atlas Project published a new suite of maps to help researchers chart the global development of disease trends.