Protein farnesyl and N-myristoyl transferases: piggy-back medicinal chemistry targets for the development of antitrypanosomatid and antimalarial therapeutics.
Gelb MH., Van Voorhis WC., Buckner FS., Yokoyama K., Eastman R., Carpenter EP., Panethymitaki C., Brown KA., Smith DF.
To accelerate progress in the development of therapeutics for protozoan parasitic diseases, we are studying enzymes active in co- and post-translational protein modification that are already the focus of drug development in other eukaryotic systems. Inhibitors of the protein farnesyltransferases (PFT) are well-established antitumour agents of low cytotoxicity and known pharmokinetic properties, while inhibitors of N-myristoyl transferase show both selectivity and specificity in the treatment of fungal infections. Here, we summarise the current evidence that supports the targeting of these ubiquitous eukaryotic enzymes for drug development against trypanosomatid infections and malaria.