The possible use of arsine (AsH3) as therapy for malaria.

Arsine has long been recognized as a selective toxin that targets the membrane of erythrocytes and causes leakage of the internal contents of these cells. In acute poisoning episodes, the victims usually sustain kidney malfunction resulting from collection of debris from the erythrocytes. The hypothesis presented here is very simple. Namely, the hypothesis is to evaluate the use of arsine (AsH3) against erythrocytes that have become infected with malaria parasites. Once malaria parasites have become established in erythrocytes, it is extremely difficult to displace them. Erythrocytes do not spontaneously undergo apoptosis, which is a mechanism that many types of cells would use to deny intracellular parasites an immune privileged domain. Moreover, antibiotics that are powerful and selective enough to defeat malaria parasites once they are established in the erythrocytes have not been found. Thus, approaches for selective hemolysis of malaria-infected erythrocytes and evicting the parasites may be attractive. It is not known, but should be easily determined experimentally, what the relative toxicity of arsine (AsH3) is to normal erythrocytes and malaria-infected erythrocytes.