Using the Target Pathogen Database to find new druggable targets in Tritryps

MARTÍN RIVARA; SANTIAGO RADÍO; EZEQUIEL J. SOSA; TURJANSKI, ADRIÁN G.; DARÍO FERNÁNDEZ DO PORTO; PABLO SMIRCICH; JOSÉ ROBERTO SOTELO-SILVEIRA

Montevideo

Congreso; Congreso de la Sociedad Iberoamericana de Bioinformática; 2019

Kinetoplastids are a group of flagellated protists, characterized by the presence of an organelle with a large mass of DNA called kinetoplast. The group includes some parasites that cause diseases in many tropical and subtropical regions, specifically in developing countries. The three major mammal diseases caused by trypanosomatids are American trypanosomiasis (Trypanosoma cruzi), African trypanosomiasis (Trypanosoma brucei) and leishmaniasis (Leishmania ssp.). Drugs developed for the treatment of these diseases are efficient only in very early stages and side effects are frequent. For this reason, we are searching for new drug targets at protein level. In order to accomplish this task, we are using the Target Pathogen Database, an online resource that allows the integration of protein information like: function, metabolic network role, off-targeting and structural properties such as druggability, etc. This study focuses on the analysis of several of these parameters at the omic level, for the three parasites, emphasizing the search for interesting, highly druggableprotein targets, with important roles in metabolic pathways. Given the phylogenetic relationship of these organisms, we expect to find interesting common druggable targets.