Chakafana Graham, Zininga Tawanda
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia 23668, United States.
Department of Biochemistry, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa.
Biochemistry. 2025 Jun 17;64(12):2529-2543. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5c00120. Epub 2025 Jun 2.
The main protozoan parasites, including Plasmodium, Leishmania, Toxoplasma, and Trypanosoma, face significant environmental stress during their life cycles. To survive, they rely on heat shock proteins (Hsps), which play essential roles in protein folding, preventing aggregation, and stabilizing cellular pathways under stress. Due to their critical functions, parasite Hsps have emerged as promising drug targets and potential diagnostic biomarkers. Several studies have revealed structural and functional differences between parasite and human Hsps, making them attractive for selective drug targeting. However, challenges such as specificity and host toxicity remain obstacles in Hsp-targeted therapies. Additionally, several key questions remain unanswered: What unique adaptations allow parasite Hsps to function efficiently? How do they interact with other chaperone systems? What roles do they play in parasite virulence and host-pathogen interactions? Addressing these gaps will enhance our understanding of parasite biology and support the development of more effective therapeutic and diagnostic strategies. This review evaluates the current knowledge on parasite Hsps, their potential as drug targets, and approaches to overcome existing challenges. Gaining deeper insights into their mechanistic roles could lead to safer and more targeted interventions against protozoan infections.
主要的原生动物寄生虫,包括疟原虫、利什曼原虫、弓形虫和锥虫,在其生命周期中面临着巨大的环境压力。为了生存,它们依赖热休克蛋白(Hsps),这些蛋白在蛋白质折叠、防止聚集以及在应激条件下稳定细胞通路方面发挥着重要作用。由于其关键功能,寄生虫热休克蛋白已成为有前景的药物靶点和潜在的诊断生物标志物。多项研究揭示了寄生虫和人类热休克蛋白之间的结构和功能差异,使其成为选择性药物靶向的有吸引力的目标。然而,特异性和宿主毒性等挑战仍然是热休克蛋白靶向治疗的障碍。此外,还有几个关键问题尚未得到解答:寄生虫热休克蛋白有哪些独特的适应性使其能够高效发挥功能?它们如何与其他伴侣系统相互作用?它们在寄生虫毒力和宿主 - 病原体相互作用中起什么作用?填补这些空白将增进我们对寄生虫生物学的理解,并支持开发更有效的治疗和诊断策略。本综述评估了关于寄生虫热休克蛋白的现有知识、它们作为药物靶点的潜力以及克服现有挑战的方法。更深入地了解它们的机制作用可能会带来针对原生动物感染的更安全、更有针对性的干预措施。