Nine new maps of mitochondrial proteins could unlock drugs for malaria-like infections

The mitochondrion — the "powerhouse of the cell" — just got mapped like never before. Across nine papers published October 1 in Cell, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Broad Institute, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, and Boston University produced comprehensive catalogs of the proteins that make up mitochondria — including in the parasites that cause some of humanity’s worst infections.

What the teams mapped

Harvard Chan’s Manoj Duraisingh led one of the studies, focused on the mitochondria of Babesia, a tick-borne parasite that causes babesiosis — a flu-like illness dangerous for seniors and immunocompromised patients. Using cutting-edge mass spectrometry, the team identified 525 mitochondrial proteins, which they estimate is "the most comprehensive mitochondrial inventory to date" not just for Babesia but for all Apicomplexa — the parasite class that also includes Plasmodium (malaria) and Toxoplasma gondii (toxoplasmosis).

Why parasite mitochondria are drug targets

Parasite mitochondria differ enough from human mitochondria that drugs can target one without wrecking the other — and new targets are urgently needed. There are currently few treatments for babesiosis, and cases are rising in the northeastern U.S. as ticks expand their range with climate change. The researchers say the inventory "will be broadly useful" to scientists hunting new ways to prevent and cure malaria and related diseases, calling it a valuable resource for therapeutic development.

What this means — and the long road ahead

For mitochondrial science, these maps are infrastructure: a reference the whole field can build on, revealing new information about how mitochondria function and evolved. For patients, the honest timeline is years — a protein catalog is the starting line for drug discovery, not a treatment. But every anti-parasitic drug that eventually exploits these maps will trace back to this week’s papers.

Where the evidence stands

• Established: The proteomic inventories themselves — 525 Babesia mitochondrial proteins identified by mass spectrometry, published across nine peer-reviewed Cell papers.
• Preliminary: Therapeutic potential: the maps suggest drug targets, but no candidate drug has emerged from them yet.