Plerixafor and related macrocyclic amines are potential drug candidates in treatment of malaria by “filling the flap” region of plasmepsin enzymes

Death by Plasmodium falsiparum, the leading cause of malaria, is going to remain a major obstacle among the infectious diseases. Plasmepsin aspartic proteases are key proteins in the pathogenesis of plasmodium species which break down the hemoglobin and exploit it as a source of amino acids. These enzymes are one of the favorite targeting agents for medicinal chemists to design new drugs. Plasmepsin proteins show a “flap” region in their N-terminal domain, predisposing them to a good “filler” drug with an exceptional affinity to this enzyme.

Source: Medical Hypotheses - June 19, 2018 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Ardavan Abiri Source Type: research