Molecular cloning, expression and enzymatic assay of pteridine reductase 1 from Iranian lizard Leishmania.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Currently, there are no effective vaccines against leishmaniasis, and treatment using pentavalent antimonial drugs is occasionally effective and often toxic for patients. The PTR1 enzyme, which causes antifolate drug resistance in Leishmania parasites encoded by gene pteridine reductase 1 (ptr1). Since Leishmania lacks pteridine and folate metabolism, it cannot synthesize the pteridine moiety from guanine triphosphate. Therefore, it must produce pteridine using PTR1, an essential part of the salvage pathway that reduces oxidized pteridines. Thus, PTR1 is a good drug-target candidate for anti-Leishmania chemotherapy. The aim of this study was the cloning, expression, and enzymatic assay of the ptr1 gene from Iranian lizard Leishmania as a model for further studies on Leis

SUBMITTER: Kazemi B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3904060 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature