Plasmodium falciparum exploits NUAK1 to establish infection in human erythrocytes

Abstract

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum continues to demonstrate growing drug resistance, raising the need for innovative treatments. Host-directed therapeutics are emerging as a promising approach for many infectious diseases, but knowledge of critical host factors for malaria is limited. P. falciparum is an obligate intracellular parasite of human erythrocytes, suggesting it has evolved to exploit specific host pathways to establish infection. Here, we report that the AMPK-related kinase NUAK1 is a critical host factor for P. falciparum in erythrocytes and has potential as a therapeutic target. We show that NUAK1 is present in human erythrocytes and undergoes increased phosphorylation in P. falciparum-infected cells. Two highly selective NUAK1 inhibitors, HTH-01-015 and WZ4003, inhibited P. falciparum growth throughout its asexual life cycle, including during erythrocyte invasion. Chemoproteomic profiling confirmed the inhibitors selectivity for human NUAK1. We further show that treatment with the inhibitors reduces phosphorylation of the well-characterized NUAK1 substrate MYPT1 in erythroid cells. Moreover, we find that genetic overexpression of NUAK1 in erythroid cells partially rescues both the signaling and invasion phenotypes elicited by the small molecule inhibitors. These results establish a critical role for the NUAK1 signaling pathway in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes and highlight its potential as a vulnerable target for host-directed malaria control.