Computational Methods to Discover Compounds for the Treatment of Chagas Disease

Publication date: Available online 16 March 2018 Source:Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology Author(s): Eduardo M. Cortés-Ruiz, Oscar Palomino-Hernández, Karla Daniela Rodríguez-Hernández, Bertha Espinoza, José L. Medina-Franco Infectious diseases continue to be a major public health. Among these diseases, American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease (CD) is a major cause of morbidity and death for millions of people in Latin America. The two drugs currently available for the treatment of CD have poor efficacy and major side effects. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop safe and effective drugs against this disease. Herein we review the diversity and coverage of chemical space of compounds tested as inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite causing CD. We also review major molecular targets currently pursued to kill the parasite and recent computational approaches to identify inhibitors for such targets.
Source: Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research