Apoptotic proteins in Leishmania donovani: in silico screening, modeling, and validation by knock-out and gene expression analysis.

ABSTRACT: Visceral leishmaniasis, a life-threatening vector-borne illness that disproportionately affects children and elderly immunocompromised people, is a primary tropical neglected disease. No apoptotic partner proteins have yet been reported in Leishmania donovani, while their identification could contribute to knowledge on parasite cell death and the establishment of alternative therapeutics. We searched for mammalian Bcl-2 family protein orthologs and found one anti-apoptotic and two pro-apoptotic orthologs in L. donovani. A pro-death aquaporin protein, due to its characteristic BH3 domain known to interact with pro-apoptotic proteins in mammalian Bcl-2 family proteins, was also included in this study. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to assess protein-prote

SUBMITTER: Kumar K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11825125 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature