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However, the urgency for new treatments has risen due to the parasite\u2019s growing resistance to existing therapies. Our study shows that a common characteristic of the\n                  <jats:italic>P. falciparum<\/jats:italic>\n                  proteome \u2013 stretches of poly-lysine residues such as those found in proteins related to adhesion and pathogenicity \u2013 can serve as an effective peptide treatment for infected erythrocytes. A single dose of these poly-basic peptides can successfully diminish parasitemia in human erythrocytes\n                  <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                  with minimal toxicity. The effectiveness of the treatment correlates with the length of the poly-lysine peptide, with 30 lysine peptides supporting the eradication of erythrocytic parasites within 72 hours. PEG-ylation of the poly-lysine peptides or utilizing poly-lysine dendrimers and polymers further increases parasite clearance efficiency and bolsters the stability of these potential new therapeutics. Lastly, our affinity pull-downs and mass-spectrometry identify\n                  <jats:italic>P. falciparum\u2019s<\/jats:italic>\n                  outer membrane proteins as likely targets for polybasic peptide medications. Since poly-lysine dendrimers are already FDA-approved for drug delivery, their adaptation as antimalarial drugs presents a promising new therapeutic strategy.\n                <\/jats:p>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>One-Sentence Summary<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    Our study demonstrates that poly-lysine peptides, particularly those modified through PEG-ylation or in the form of poly-lysine dendrimers, can effectively reduce\n                    <jats:italic>Plasmodium falciparum,<\/jats:italic>\n                    the causative agent of malaria, in human erythrocytes\n                    <jats:italic>in vitro,<\/jats:italic>\n                    with potential for use as a promising new antimalarial therapy.\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1101\/2023.09.16.558069","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,17]],"date-time":"2023-09-17T02:55:18Z","timestamp":1694919318000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Poly-basic peptides and polymers as new drug candidate against\n                  <i>Plasmodium falciparum<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"given":"Roshan","family":"Sivakumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Katherine","family":"Floyd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Erath","family":"Jessey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jenny","family":"Kim Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5365-7490","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter O.","family":"Bayguinov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7907-3602","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"James A.J.","family":"Fitzpatrick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1584-5423","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dennis","family":"Goldfrab","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marko","family":"Jovanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9848-0142","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abhai","family":"Tripathi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9417-0822","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergej","family":"Djuranovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4219-0095","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Slavica","family":"Pavlovic-Djuranovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2023092012200593000_2023.09.16.558069v1.1","unstructured":"W. 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