South African Abietane Diterpenoids and Their Analogs as Potential Antimalarials: Novel Insights from Hybrid Computational Approaches.

ABSTRACT: The hemoglobin degradation process in Plasmodium parasites is vital for nutrient acquisition required for their growth and proliferation. In P. falciparum, falcipains (FP-2 and FP-3) are the major hemoglobinases, and remain attractive antimalarial drug targets. Other Plasmodium species also possess highly homologous proteins to FP-2 and FP-3. Although several inhibitors have been designed against these proteins, none has been commercialized due to associated toxicity on human cathepsins (Cat-K, Cat-L and Cat-S). Despite the two enzyme groups sharing a common structural fold and catalytic mechanism, distinct active site variations have been identified, and can be exploited for drug development. Here, we utilize in silico approaches to screen 628 compounds from the South

SUBMITTER: Musyoka T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6891524 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature