The role of Plasmodium falciparum acyl-coenzyme A synthetase 10 in fatty acid acquisition and lipid synthesis

ACS10 is required for efficient incorporation of 16–20-carbon unsaturated and a 20-carbon saturated fatty acid into major Plasmodium falciparum phospholipids and neutral lipids during asexual blood-stage development.

• Why it matters: Parasites must acquire and activate host fatty acids to build lipids for rapid proliferation, but the specific contribution of ACS10 to fatty acid use and lipid balance was unclear.
• What they did: Using fatty acid alkyne probes of parasite lipid synthesis plus selective ACS10 depletion in a conditional knockdown Plasmodium falciparum line, they measured incorporation into phospholipids and neutral lipids.
• The result: ACS10 knockdown deformed the food vacuole, consistent with saturated/unsaturated lipid imbalance, and enabled a fatty acid alkyne-based screen to identify ACS10-targeting inhibitors as primary mode of action.

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