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netLibrary - eBook Summary Structure-based Drug Design by ...

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blocked <strong>by</strong> mass action through the addition of glycerol (Figure 2). As a result trypanosomes were lysed<br />

within five minutes [44,45]. Treatment of infected rodents with the SHAM/glycerol mixture proved to<br />

be effective to clear the blood of the animals from T. brucei [46], although only with sublethal doses was<br />

permanent aparasitemia obtained [47]. If glycolysis could be blocked selectively, i.e., without affecting<br />

the equivalent enzymes of the host, one might have a promising therapy against trypanosomiasis.<br />

D. Beyond Enzyme Inhibition: Protein Routing as a Target<br />

In trypanosomes, seven enzymes involved in glycolysis, from hexokinase to phosphoglycerate kinase,<br />

are sequestered in specialized organelles, called glycosomes [48]. These microbodies are probably<br />

evolutionary relics of an endosymbiont [49] but are devoid of genetic material encoding for the<br />

glycosomal enzymes. Instead, these enzymes are encoded in the nucleus and are post-translationally<br />

imported into the glycosome. Since the import process likely involves unfolding one might envision<br />

blocking import <strong>by</strong> stabilizing the folded<br />

http://legacy.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll?bookid=12640&filename=Page_369.html (2 of 2) [4/5/2004 5:32:27 PM]

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