Drug Target Validation of the Protein Kinase <i>AEK1,</i> Essential for Proliferation, Host Cell Invasion, and Intracellular Replication of the Human Pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi
Miguel Ángel Chiurillo, Bryan C. Jensen, Roberto Docampo
Abstract
Chagas disease affects 6 to 7 million people in the Americas, and its treatment has been limited to drugs with relatively high toxicity and low efficacy in the chronic phase of the infection. New validated targets are needed to combat this disease. In this work, we report the chemical and genetic validation of the protein kinase AEK1, which is essential for cytokinesis and infectivity, using a novel gene editing strategy.
Topics & Concepts
BiologyCytokinesisTrypanosoma cruziChagas diseaseInfectivityDrug developmentKinasePathogenDrugDiseaseVirologyComputational biologyCellCell biologyGeneticsCell divisionVirusPharmacologyMedicineParasite hostingComputer scienceWorld Wide WebPathologyTrypanosoma species research and implicationsResearch on Leishmaniasis StudiesBiochemical and Molecular Research