Jana Snehasis, Paliwal Jyoti
Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics Division, Ranbaxy Research Laboratories, Plot-18, Sector-20, Udyog Vihar, Industrial Area, Gurgaon, Haryana 122015, India.
Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2007 Jul;30(1):4-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2007.01.002. Epub 2007 Mar 6.
The emergence and spread of drug-resistant malaria parasites is a serious public health problem in the tropical world. Malaria control has relied upon the traditional quinoline, antifolate and artemisinin compounds. Very few new antimalarials were developed in the last quarter of the 20th century. An alarming increase in drug-resistant strains of the malaria parasite poses a significant problem for effective control. Recent advances in our knowledge of parasite biology as well as the availability of the genome sequence provide a wide range of novel targets for drug design. Gene products involved in controlling vital aspects of parasite metabolism and organelle function could be attractive targets. It is expected that the application of functional genomic tools in combination with modern approaches such as structure-based drug design and combinatorial chemistry will lead to the development of effective new drugs against drug-resistant malaria strains. This review discusses novel molecular targets of the malaria parasite available to the drug discovery scientist.
耐药疟原虫的出现和传播是热带地区严重的公共卫生问题。疟疾防治一直依赖于传统的喹啉、抗叶酸剂和青蒿素类化合物。在20世纪最后25年里，很少有新的抗疟药物被研发出来。疟原虫耐药菌株惊人的增长给有效防治带来了重大问题。我们对寄生虫生物学认识的最新进展以及基因组序列的可得性为药物设计提供了广泛的新靶点。参与控制寄生虫代谢和细胞器功能关键方面的基因产物可能是有吸引力的靶点。预计功能基因组学工具与基于结构的药物设计和组合化学等现代方法相结合，将导致针对耐药疟原虫菌株的有效新药的开发。本综述讨论了药物研发科学家可利用的疟原虫新分子靶点。
