Kojo Mensa-Wilmot Tag

Chemical Optimization of CBL0137 for Human African Trypanosomiasis Lead Drug Discovery

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]The carbazole CBL0137 (1) is a lead for drug development against human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), a disease caused by Trypanosoma brucei. To advance 1 as a candidate drug, we synthesized new analogs that were evaluated for the physicochemical properties, antitrypanosome...

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University of Georgia Professor and Department Head, Cellular Biology

Pseudokinase NRP1 facilitates endocytosis of transferrin in the African trypanosome

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Trypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and nagana in cattle. During infection of a vertebrate, endocytosis of host transferrin (Tf) is important for viability of the parasite. The majority of proteins involved in trypanosome endocytosis of...

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Hypothesis-generating proteome perturbation to identify NEU-4438 and acoziborole modes of action in the African Trypanosome

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] NEU-4438 is a lead for the development of drugs against Trypanosoma brucei, which causes human African trypanosomiasis. Optimized with phenotypic screening, targets of NEU-4438 are unknown. Herein, we present a cell perturbome workflow that compares NEU-4438's molecular modes...

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University of Georgia Professor and Department Head, Cellular Biology

Casein kinase TbCK1.2 regulates division of kinetoplast DNA, and movement of basal bodies in the African trypanosome

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]The single mitochondrial nucleoid (kinetoplast) of Trypanosoma brucei is found proximal to a basal body (mature (mBB)/probasal body (pBB) pair). Kinetoplast inheritance requires synthesis of, and scission of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) generating two kinetoplasts that segregate with...

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Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Novel Anti-Trypanosomal Compounds

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a deadly neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. During the course of screening a collection of diverse nitrogenous heterocycles, we discovered two novel compounds that contain the tetracyclic core...

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Trainee Adds New Tool to the Trypanosome Toolbox

[caption id="attachment_4660" align="aligncenter" width="600"] mCLING-staining of membrane (green) and DAPI staining of DNA (magenta) in trypanosomes in various life cycle stages. Flagella appear as tube-like structures along the length of the cell body. Nanotubes can be seen projecting outward from the periphery of the cells.[/caption] When...

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