Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2007-4-2
pubmed:abstractText
We propose a novel strategy for selective targeting of essential pathogen proteins that contain sizable indels (insertions/deletions) in their sequences compared with their host orthologues. This approach has been tested on elongation factor-1alpha (EF-1alpha) from the protozoan pathogen Leishmania donovani. Leishmania EF-1alpha is 82% identical to the corresponding human orthologue, but possesses a 12 aminoacid sequence deletion compared with human EF-1alpha. We used this indel-differentiated region to design small molecules that selectively bind to leishmania EF-1alpha and not to the human protein. Three unrelated molecules were identified with the capacity to inhibit protein synthesis in leishmania by up to 75% while exhibiting no effect on human protein translation. These candidates may serve as prototypes for future development of antiprotozoan therapeutics. More generally, these findings provide a basis for a novel drug design platform. This platform targets essential pathogen proteins that are highly conserved across species, and consequently would not typically be considered to be conventional drug targets. We anticipate that such indel-directed targeting of essential proteins in microbial pathogens may help address the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:issn
1097-0134
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
(c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
1
pubmed:volume
67
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
53-64
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Amino Acid Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Benzhydryl Compounds, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Binding Sites, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Catechols, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Cell-Free System, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Cells, Cultured, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Chromones, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Computational Biology, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Computer Simulation, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Gene Deletion, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Hydrogen Bonding, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Leishmania donovani, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Models, Molecular, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Molecular Sequence Data, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Naphthalenes, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Peptide Elongation Factor 1, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Phenylacetates, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Protozoan Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Sequence Alignment, pubmed-meshheading:17243179-Sulfonamides
pubmed:year
2007
pubmed:articleTitle
Indel-based targeting of essential proteins in human pathogens that have close host orthologue(s): discovery of selective inhibitors for Leishmania donovani elongation factor-1alpha.
pubmed:affiliation
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't