Lysyl-tRNA synthetase as a drug target in malaria and cryptosporidiosis
Malaria and cryptosporidiosis, caused by apicomplexan parasites, remain major drivers of global child mortality. New drugs for the treatment of malaria and cryptosporidiosis, in particular, are of high priority; however, there are few chemically validated targets. The natural product cladosporin is active against blood- and liver-stage Plasmodium falciparum and Cryptosporidium parvum in cell-culture studies. Target deconvolution in P. falciparum has …
Open-source discovery of chemical leads for next-generation chemoprotective antimalarials
Abstract To discover leads for next-generation chemoprotective antimalarial drugs, we tested more than 500,000 compounds for their ability to inhibit liver-stage development of luciferase-expressing Plasmodium spp. parasites (681 compounds showed a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of less than 1 micromolar). Cluster analysis identified potent and previously unreported scaffold families as well as other series previously associated with chemoprophylaxis. …
First evidence of polychaete intermediate hosts for Neospirorchis spp. marine turtle blood flukes (Trematoda: Spirorchiidae)
Abstract Life cycles of spirorchiids that infect the vascular system of turtles are poorly understood. Few life cycles of these blood flukes have been elucidated and all intermediate hosts reported are gastropods (Mollusca), regardless of whether the definitive host is a freshwater or a marine turtle. During a recent survey of blood fluke larvae in …
Phenotypic screens reveal posaconazole as rapidly cidal combination partner for treatment of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis
A recombinant antibody against Plasmodium vivax UIS4 for distinguishing replicating from dormant liver stages
Abstract Background:Plasmodium vivax is the most geographically widespread of the human malaria parasites, causing 50,000 to 100,000 deaths annually. Plasmodium vivax parasites have the unique feature of forming dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate weeks or months after a parasite-infected mosquito bite, leading to new symptomatic blood stage infections. Efforts to eliminate P. vivax malaria likely will need to …
Trainee Spotlight: Beatrice Colon
Beatrice Colon, an Illinois native, is a Ph.D. trainee in Dennis Kyle’s laboratory. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science degree from the University of South Florida (USF). She began her Ph.D. at USF as well. Beatrice moved to the University of Georgia …
