Chemical and Genetic Validation of an Essential Calcium Entry Channel of <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i> as a Therapeutic Target.

ABSTRACT: The Trypanosoma brucei group of parasites causes Nagana in cattle and human African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, in humans. Current drugs against these parasites have severe toxicity, vaccines are not available, and development of drug resistance makes finding new chemotherapeutic targets imperative. Ion channels, which are involved in several biological processes, are targets of many therapeutically useful agents, and they remain significantly underexplored as therapeutic targets in parasites. Here, we report the presence of a voltage gated Ca²⁺ channel (VGCC, TbCa_v), which is localized in the flagellar plasma membrane (PM) of T. brucei and is essential for proliferation of both bloodstream (BSF) and procyclic forms (PCF) of the parasite. TbCa

SUBMITTER: Huang G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12172032 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature