Recent advances in identification of potential drug targets and development of novel drugs in parasitic diseases. Part III: Helminths

Abstract

The term “magic bullet” was chosen to explain how a drug kills the pathogen with a greater affinity andspecificity to its target without effecting its orthologue in human. The ideal parasite target is a moleculeessential for its viability, growth, proliferation, and differentiation. The majority of commonly administeredanthelminthics target either neuromuscular elements, or metabolic pathways. On the other hand, genomicsstudies combined with transcriptome analyses revealed advanced information in understanding hostparasiteinteractions that yielded clues for new strategies in identification of new parasite targets anddesigning novel inhibitors. In fact, next generation sequencing technology provides unique opportunitiesto understand parasites molecular biology and their role in parasite-host interactions. Besides, drugrepurposing is a promising approach to expand the pool of molecules with potent inhibitory activity againsta specific parasite target. The present review aims to highlight the proposed potential helminth drug targetswith special emphasis on the major tropical diseases such as schistosomiasis, hydatid cyst, lymphaticfilariasis, onchocerciases and soil transmitted diseases. The review also highlights hypothesized potentialtargets for future development of novel anthelminthics utilizing aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and the 20S coreproteasome, as well as new strategies targeting parasitic response to overcome host mechanistic target ofrapamycin.