Overview of the role of kinetoplastid surface carbohydrates in infection and host cell invasion: prospects for therapeutic intervention

Kinetoplastid parasites are responsible for serious diseases in humans and livestock such as Chagas disease and sleeping sickness (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei, respectively), and the different forms of cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis (produced by Leishmania...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2019-12, Vol.146 (14), p.1743-1754
Main Authors: Valente, Maria, Castillo-Acosta, Víctor M, Vidal, Antonio E, González-Pacanowska, Dolores
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African trypanosomiasis
Amino acids
Animal diseases
Animal models
Antiparasitic agents
Binders (materials)
Binding
carbohydrate binding
Carbohydrates
Chagas disease
Chemical compounds
Glycan
Glycoproteins
host cell invasion
humans
Immune system
Infections
Lectins
Leishmania
Lipids
Livestock
mechanism of action
Parasites
Pathogens
Pharmacology
Polysaccharides
Proteins
Protozoa
Review
Therapeutic applications
therapeutics
Trypanosoma brucei
Trypanosoma cruzi
Vector-borne diseases
Virulence
Visceral leishmaniasis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Kinetoplastid parasites are responsible for serious diseases in humans and livestock such as Chagas disease and sleeping sickness (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei, respectively), and the different forms of cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis (produced by Leishmania spp). The limited number of antiparasitic drugs available together with the emergence of resistance underscores the need for new therapeutic agents with novel mechanisms of action. The use of agents binding to surface glycans has been recently suggested as a new approach to antitrypanosomal design and a series of peptidic and non-peptidic carbohydrate-binding agents have been identified as antiparasitics showing efficacy in animal models of sleeping sickness. Here we provide an overview of the nature of surface glycans in three kinetoplastid parasites, T. cruzi, T. brucei and Leishmania. Their role in virulence and host cell invasion is highlighted with the aim of identifying specific glycan-lectin interactions and carbohydrate functions that may be the target of novel carbohydrate-binding agents with therapeutic applications.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S0031182019001355