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Updated: Aug 3, 2026

Measurement of Heme Synthesis Levels in Mammalian Cells
Published on: July 9, 2015
Hemoglobin degradation
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Medicine, Washington University, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. goldberg@borcim.wustl.edu
Abstract:
Hemoglobin degradation by Plasmodium is a massive catabolic process within the parasite food vacuole that is important for the organism's survival in its host erythrocyte. A proteolytic pathway is responsible for generating amino acids from hemoglobin. Each of the enzymes involved has its own peculiarities to be exploited for development of antimalarial agents that will starve the parasite or result in build-up of toxic intermediates. There are a number of unanswered questions concerning the cell biology, biochemistry and metabolic roles of this crucial pathway.
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