In Silico screening on the three-dimensional model of the Plasmodium vivax SUB1 protease leads to the validation of a novel anti-parasite compound.

ABSTRACT: Widespread drug resistance calls for the urgent development of new antimalarials that target novel steps in the life cycle of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. The essential subtilisin-like serine protease SUB1 of Plasmodium merozoites plays a dual role in egress from and invasion into host erythrocytes. It belongs to a new generation of attractive drug targets against which specific potent inhibitors are actively searched. We characterize here the P. vivax SUB1 enzyme and show that it displays a typical auto-processing pattern and apical localization in P. vivax merozoites. To search for small PvSUB1 inhibitors, we took advantage of the similarity of SUB1 with bacterial subtilisins and generated P. vivax SUB1 three-dimensional models. The structure-based virtual screening of a l

SUBMITTER: Bouillon A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3689996 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature