Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brasil.
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2023 Jan 20;117:e220164. doi: 10.1590/0074-02760220164. eCollection 2023.
Chagas disease is an enduring public health issue in many Latin American countries, receiving insufficient investment in research and development. Strategies for disease control and management currently lack efficient pharmaceuticals, commercial diagnostic kits with improved sensitivity, and vaccines. Genetic heterogeneity of Trypanosoma cruzi is a key aspect for novel drug design since pharmacological technologies rely on the degree of conservation of parasite target proteins. Therefore, there is a need to expand the knowledge regarding parasite genetics which, if fulfilled, could leverage Chagas disease research and development, and improve disease control strategies. The growing capacity of whole-genome sequencing technology and its adoption as disease surveillance routine may be key for solving this long-lasting problem.
恰加斯病是许多拉丁美洲国家长期存在的公共卫生问题，在研发方面的投入不足。目前，疾病控制和管理策略缺乏有效的药物、敏感性提高的商业诊断试剂盒和疫苗。克氏锥虫的遗传异质性是新药设计的一个关键方面，因为药理学技术依赖于寄生虫靶蛋白的保守程度。因此，有必要扩大对寄生虫遗传学的了解，如果能够实现，这将推动恰加斯病的研发，并改善疾病控制策略。全基因组测序技术能力的提高及其作为疾病监测常规手段的采用，可能是解决这一长期存在问题的关键。
