Parasite Mitochondria Mapping Identifies Dozens of Potential Drug Targets for Sleeping Sickness and Related Diseases
Source Summary
Researchers completed a four-year effort to map all proteins in the mitochondria of parasites causing sleeping sickness, giardiasis, leishmaniasis, and babesiosis. The mapping identified dozens of potential new drug targets by targeting the parasites' energy-producing organelles. These four diseases together affect nearly a billion people annually.
Why it matters
Identifying mitochondrial protein targets offers a new approach to treating parasitic diseases that collectively affect nearly a billion people and for which current treatment options are limited.
