Computational Studies on Calpain from Plasmodium falciparum

Malaria is one of the most devastating diseases prevalent in the world. It is caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Many species of Plasmodium are shown to infect human host. The increased resistant in malaria parasite against drugs remain the major concern. Hence identification of new and effective drug targets against Plasmodium is a regular process. In the same line, proteases are the major group of the proteins in the parasite which plays crucial role in various processes like migration, evasion and cell cycle etc. Therefore, in this study, we have performed structural studies on cysteine proteases called ‘calpain’ from malaria parasite (Pfcalpain). In addition, phylogenetic analysis was also performed on Pfcalpain. We believe that these results will help in understanding various biological processes of parasite and will be instrumental in discovering effective chemotherapy against malaria.