The cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase TbPDE2C is an essential enzyme in bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei.

ABSTRACT: Chemotherapy of human sleeping sickness, a fatal disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, is in a dismal state, and the identification and characterization of new drug targets is an urgent prerequisite for an improvement of the dramatic situation in the field. Over the last several years, inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide-specific phosphodiesterases have proven to be highly successful drug candidates for an assortment of clinical conditions. Their potential as antiparasitic drugs has not been explored so far. This study reports the characterization of a cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase from T. brucei, TbPDE2C. This enzyme is a class I phosphodiesterase, and it is a member of a small enzyme family in T. brucei, TbPDE2. Inhibitors of this enzyme block the proliferation of bl

SUBMITTER: Zoraghi R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC123650 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature