Antimalarial drug resistance is an enormous global threat. Recently, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as a new source of antimalarials. In this study, an AMP LZ1 derived from snake cathelicidin was identified with antimalarial activity. In the in vitro antiplasmodial assay, LZ1 showed strong suppression of blood stage Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) with an IC50 value of 3.045 μM. In the in vivo antiplasmodial assay, LZ1 exerted a significant antimalarial activity against Plasmodium berghei (P. berghei) in a dose- and a time- dependent manner. In addition, LZ1 exhibited anti-inflammatory effects and attenuated liver-function impairment during P. berghei infection. Furthermore, by employing inhibitors against glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in erythrocytes, LZ1 specifically inhibited adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in parasite-infected erythrocyte by selectively inhibiting the pyruvate kinase activity. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that LZ1 is a potential candidate for novel antimalarials development.
Keywords: ATP; antimicrobial peptide; cytokine; malaria; pyruvate kinase.