Plasmodium falciparum cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase – A Novel Chemotherapeutic Target

The primary effector of cGMP signaling in Plasmodium is the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). Work in human-infective Plasmodium falciparum and rodent-infective Plasmodium berghei has provided biological validation of P. falciparum PKG (PfPKG) as a drug target for treating and/or protecting again...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: David Rotella, John Siekierka, Purnima Bhanot
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.610408/full
Description
Summary:The primary effector of cGMP signaling in Plasmodium is the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). Work in human-infective Plasmodium falciparum and rodent-infective Plasmodium berghei has provided biological validation of P. falciparum PKG (PfPKG) as a drug target for treating and/or protecting against malaria. PfPKG is essential in the asexual erythrocytic and sexual cycles as well as the pre-erythrocytic cycle. Medicinal chemistry efforts, both target-based and phenotype-based, have targeted PfPKG in the past few years. This review provides a brief overview of their results and challenges.
ISSN:1664-302X