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Hemanta K. Majumder
Molecular Parisitology Laboratory, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology

About this book

If viewed globally, the parasitic diseases pose an increasing threat to human health and welfare. The diseases caused by kinetoplastid protozoan parasites like Leishmania and Trypanosoma continue as a cause of suffering for many millions of people in both tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Leishmania species are found throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia. Trypanosoma cruzi that cause Chagas’ disease is endemic in Latin America, while members of Trypanosoma brucei group are found in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the past two decades has witnessed commendable research efforts and technical advances in our understanding of the biochemistry, molecular and cell biology of these pathogens, the dreaded protozoal diseases caused by these organisms threaten mankind. Therapeutic tools for the treatment of most parasitic diseases are extremely limited. The development of parasites resistant to many of the available drugs is also responsible for the depressing picture of disease persistence and death. Development of commercially available vaccines is still far from reality, though research and trial programs continue.

Table of contents

1. Arsenite Resistance in Leishmania and Possible Drug Targets
Gaganmeet Singh, K.G. Jayanarayan and Chinmoy S. Dey

2. Unique Characteristics of the Kinetoplast DNA Replication Machinery
Provide Potential Drug Targets in Trypanosomatids
Dotan Sela, Neta Milman, Irit Kapeller, Aviad Zick, Rachel Bezalel, Nurit Yaffe
and Joseph Shlomai

3. Drugs and Transporters in Kinetoplastid Protozoa
Scott M. Landfear

4. Selective Lead Compounds against Kinetoplastid Tubulin
R.E. Morgan and K.A. Werbovetz

5. Fishing for Anti-Leishmania Drugs: Principles and Problems
Emanuela Handman, Lukasz Kedzierski, Alessandro D. Uboldi and James W. Goding

6. Sterol 14-Demethylase Inhibitors for Trypanosoma cruzi Infections
Frederick S. Buckner

7. Histone Deacetylases
David Horn

8. Targeting Glycoproteins or Glycolipids and Their Metabolic Pathways
for Antiparasite Therapy
Sumi Mukhopadhyay nee Bandyopadhyay and Chitra Mandal

9. DNA Topoisomerases of Leishmania: The Potential Targets
for Anti-Leishmanial Therapy
Benu Brata Das, Agneyo Ganguly and Hemanta K. Majumder

10. Antiparasitic Chemotherapy: Tinkering with the Purine Salvage Pathway
Alok Kumar Datta, Rupak Datta and Banibrata Sen

11. Searching the Tritryp Genomes for Drug Targets
Peter J. Myler

12. Purine and Pyrimidine Metabolism in Leishmania
Nicola S. Carter, Phillip Yates, Cassandra S. Arendt, Jan M. Boitz and Buddy Ullman