Front Cover: A Chimeric Peptide Inhibits Red Blood Cell Invasion by Plasmodium falciparum with Hundredfold Increased Efficacy (ChemBioChem 7/2023)**

Abstract

Inhibition of malaria parasite entry into red blood cells by a rationally designed chimeric peptide molecule that exhibits high affinity to parasite protein receptor (AMA1) displayed on the merozoite surface and outcompetes the natural ligand for the receptor (another parasite protein, RON2, embedded on the erythrocyte membrane), resulting in two-digit nanomolar IC50. (Illustrated by Anugraha Ambily). More information can be found in the Research Article by K. Mandal et al.