Yeast Model Uncovers Dual Roles of Mitochondria in the Action of Artemisinin
Figure 1
Artemisinin Inhibits Yeast Respiratory Growth by Depolarizing the Mitochondrial Membrane
(A) Artemisinin (Art) inhibits yeast growth in nonfermentable media. In YPD the effect of artemisinin is minimal, whereas in YPG, artemisinin is highly effective.
(B) Yeast growth is inhibited by artemisinin in YPG with an IC50 that is comparable to that required to kill cultured malaria parasites. Relative growth in the presence of artemisinin was measured against to that of the yeast grown in the absence of artemisinin. Experiments shown were performed three times in liquid YPG media. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean for each assay.
(C) Artemisinin depolarizes mitochondrial membrane. The peak shift toward the left represents a decrease of fluorescence signal indicating the loss of membrane potential. Cells were grown in YPG with or without artemisinin (Art) for 2 h.