Glycobiology of the Leishmania parasite and emerging targets for antileishmanial drug discovery

Abstract

Importance of the field: Parasitic diseases that pose a threat to human life include leishmaniasis – caused by protozoa of Leishmania species. Existing drugs have limitations due to deleterious side effects like teratogenicity and factors like cost and drug resistance, thus furthering the need to develop this area of research.

Areas covered in this review: We came across drug targets, very recently characterised, cloned and validated by genomics and bioinformatics. We bring these promising drug targets into focus so that they can be explored to their fullest.

What the reader will gain: In an effort to bridge the gaps between existing knowledge and future prospects of drug discovery, we found interesting studies validating drug targets and paving the way for better experiments to be designed. In a few cases, novel pathways have been characterized, while in others, well established pathways when probed further, led to the discovery of new drug targets.

Take home message: The review constitutes a comprehensive report on upcoming drug targets, with emphasis on glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored glycoconjugates along with related biochemistry of enolase, glycosome and purine salvage pathways, as we strive to bring ourselves a step closer to being able to combat this deadly disease.

Keywords::

• adenosine kinase
• drug discovery
• enolase
• galactofuranosyltransferase
• glycoconjugates
• GPI anchor
• Leishmania
• mannosyltransferases
• peroxins

Acknowledgments

The core infrastructure support from the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi and the Department of Biotechnology (Government of India) is acknowledged.

Notes

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.