To kill a piroplasm: genetic technologies to advance drug discovery and target identification in Babesia |
| |
Authors: | Caroline D. Keroack Brendan Elsworth Manoj T. Duraisingh |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 651 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA;2. University of Melbourne, School of Biosciences, Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia |
| |
Abstract: | Babesia parasites infect a diverse range of vertebrate hosts, from penguins to pigs. Recently, the emergence of zoonotic Babesia infection has been increasing, and the list of species reported to infect humans continues to grow. Babesiosis represents a burgeoning veterinary and medical threat, and the need for novel therapeutic drugs to effectively target this diverse group of parasites is pressing. Here, we review the current culture systems that exist to study and manipulate Babesia parasites, and identify the scope and methods for target discovery and validation to identify novel, potent anti-babesial inhibitors. Challenges exist including difficulties in the culture systems of important zoonotic parasites, and there is a lack of integrated morphological and molecular data. While molecular approaches in several Babesia spp. has become a reality, the ability to rapidly identify and validate drug targets is hindered by a lack of sophisticated genetic tools to probe parasite biology. The minimal genome size and haploid nature of blood-stage Babesia parasites presents an opportunity to adapt techniques from related systems and characterise the druggable genomic space in a high-throughput way. The considerable diversity of parasites within the genus suggests the existence of highly divergent biology and polymorphism that could present a formidable barrier to the development of a pan-babesiacidal therapeutic strategy. |
| |
Keywords: | Apicomplexan Drug discovery Drug target identification Target validation Genetics |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|