Abstract
Protozoan parasites, such as those responsible for malaria and African Sleeping Sickness, represent a huge burden to the developing world. Current chemotherapy to combat these diseases is inadequate: antiquated, toxic and increasingly ineffective due to drug resistance. In this article, the potential usefulness of targeting key regulators of the parasite cell cycle will be discussed, paying particular attention to three families of protein kinases: Cyclin-dependent kinases, glycogen synthase kinases and Aurora kinases. This review shall outline their identification, which has been greatly accelerated by the availability of parasite genome data, their validation as bona fide regulators of the parasite cell cycle and current data on the availability and anti-parasite activity of inhibitors.
Keywords: Cyclin-dependent kinase, glycogen synthase kinase, aurora kinase, cell cycle, Trypanosoma, Leishmania, Plasmodium
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title: Targeting the Cell Cycle in the Pursuit of Novel Chemotherapies Against Parasitic Protozoa
Volume: 14 Issue: 9
Author(s): Karen M. Grant
Affiliation:
Keywords: Cyclin-dependent kinase, glycogen synthase kinase, aurora kinase, cell cycle, Trypanosoma, Leishmania, Plasmodium
Abstract: Protozoan parasites, such as those responsible for malaria and African Sleeping Sickness, represent a huge burden to the developing world. Current chemotherapy to combat these diseases is inadequate: antiquated, toxic and increasingly ineffective due to drug resistance. In this article, the potential usefulness of targeting key regulators of the parasite cell cycle will be discussed, paying particular attention to three families of protein kinases: Cyclin-dependent kinases, glycogen synthase kinases and Aurora kinases. This review shall outline their identification, which has been greatly accelerated by the availability of parasite genome data, their validation as bona fide regulators of the parasite cell cycle and current data on the availability and anti-parasite activity of inhibitors.
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Cite this article as:
Grant M. Karen, Targeting the Cell Cycle in the Pursuit of Novel Chemotherapies Against Parasitic Protozoa, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2008; 14 (9) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161208784041042
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161208784041042 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
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