Antimalarial Drug Strategies to Target Plasmodium Gametocytes

Abstract

Onward transmission of Plasmodium falciparum from humans to mosquitoes is dependent upon a specialised transmission stage called the gametocyte. Despite its critical role in transmission, key questions regarding gametocyte biology remain to be answered, and there are no widely prescribed therapeutics to eliminate them. Advances in our understanding of the biology of the gametocyte in combination with growing information regarding the mechanism of action of anti-plasmodial therapies provide an emerging view as to which of the biological processes of the gametocyte present viable targets for drug intervention and explain the variable activity of existing therapies. A deeper understanding of the gametocyte and transmission stages of P. falciparum is a path to identifying and characterising novel drug targets. This review will examine how a selection of current and potential gametocytocidals mediate their effect.