Therapeutic approaches blocking glycan synthesis as targeting strategy for malaria.

Therapeutic approaches blocking glycan synthesis as targeting strategy for malaria. Curr Clin Pharmacol. 2016 Dec 20; Authors: Gomes PS, Morrot A Abstract Malaria annually infected million people around the world, especially in subtropical and tropical regions in the world. Thereby, the research effort is focused on new therapeutic targets to strike malaria, as drug resistance is one of the greatest challenges in malaria eradication. Carbohydrate recognition in Plasmodium-host interactions is one area for potential targets against disease. The glycan derivatives interfere with replication and invasion of Plasmodium falciparum. Sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are known to block merozoite and sporozoite invasion. Heparin is a GAG that has been shown blocking the invasion by binding to the specific domain of merozoites surface (MSP) termed MSP-1. Although MSP does not bind to heparin-like GAG oligosaccharides, its ability to bind to small molecules has not yet been investigated. Besides this, the red blood cell also has glycans on the surface that mediate parasites-cell and cell-cell interactions. In this review, we aim to discuss drug mechanisms that act in carbohydrate synthesis targets in malaria disease. PMID: 28000556 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Clinical Pharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Curr Clin Pharmacol Source Type: research