Aminopeptidases of Malaria Parasites: New Targets for Chemotherapy

Title: Aminopeptidases of Malaria Parasites: New Targets for Chemotherapy

Volume: 10 Issue: 3

Author(s): Katharine R. Trenholme, Christopher L. Brown, Tina S. Skinner-Adams, Colin Stack, Jonathan Lowther, Joyce To, Mark W. Robinson, Sheila M. Donnelly, John P. Dalton and Donald L. Gardiner

Affiliation:

Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum, malaria, aminopeptidase, drug discovery

Abstract: Novel targets for new drug development are urgently required to combat malaria, a disease that puts half of the worlds population at risk. One group of enzymes identified within the genome of the most lethal of the causative agents of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, that may have the potential to become new targets for antimalarial drug development are the aminopeptidases. These enzymes catalyse the cleavage of the N-terminal amino acids from proteins and peptides. P. falciparum appears to encode for at least nine aminopeptidases, two neutral aminopeptidases, one aspartyl aminopeptidase, one aminopeptidase P, one prolyl aminopeptidase and four methionine aminopeptidases. Recent advances in our understanding of these genes and their protein products are outlined in this review, including their potential for antimalarial drug development.

Cite this article as:

R. Trenholme Katharine, L. Brown Christopher, S. Skinner-Adams Tina, Stack Colin, Lowther Jonathan, To Joyce, W. Robinson Mark, M. Donnelly Sheila, P. Dalton John and L. Gardiner Donald, Aminopeptidases of Malaria Parasites: New Targets for Chemotherapy, Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets 2010; 10 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152610791163363