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Biomolecules
Special Issues
Infectious Diseases: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Strategies
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Infectious Diseases: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Strategies

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2023) | Viewed by 5194

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Minu Chaudhuri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Microbiology, Immunology, and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA
Interests: mitochondria; protein translocation; Trypanosoma; cell biology; functional genomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, infectious diseases including COVID-19 are becoming a huge public health problem. We are pleased to invite review papers or original research articles that address the molecular mechanisms of infectious diseases. In particular, studies that contribute to advancing the current mechanistic understanding of infectious diseases rewiring, as well as manuscripts providing novel application-oriented perspectives, are highly welcome.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Infectious diseases;
  • Infectious agents;
  • Models for infectious diseases;
  • PANoptosis;
  • Mitochondria;
  • Single-cell RNA sequencing;
  • Immune intervention;
  • Protein trafficking.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Minu Chaudhuri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

32 pages, 1995 KiB  
Review
Further Investigations of Nitroheterocyclic Compounds as Potential Antikinetoplastid Drug Candidates
by Carlos García-Estrada, Yolanda Pérez-Pertejo, Bárbara Domínguez-Asenjo, Vanderlan Nogueira Holanda, Sankaranarayanan Murugesan, María Martínez-Valladares, Rafael Balaña-Fouce and Rosa M. Reguera
Biomolecules 2023, 13(4), 637; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13040637 - 1 Apr 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2423
Abstract
Due to the lack of specific vaccines, management of the trypanosomatid-caused neglected tropical diseases (sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis) relies exclusively on pharmacological treatments. Current drugs against them are scarce, old and exhibit disadvantages, such as adverse effects, parenteral administration, chemical instability [...] Read more.
Due to the lack of specific vaccines, management of the trypanosomatid-caused neglected tropical diseases (sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis) relies exclusively on pharmacological treatments. Current drugs against them are scarce, old and exhibit disadvantages, such as adverse effects, parenteral administration, chemical instability and high costs which are often unaffordable for endemic low-income countries. Discoveries of new pharmacological entities for the treatment of these diseases are scarce, since most of the big pharmaceutical companies find this market unattractive. In order to fill the pipeline of compounds and replace existing ones, highly translatable drug screening platforms have been developed in the last two decades. Thousands of molecules have been tested, including nitroheterocyclic compounds, such as benznidazole and nifurtimox, which had already provided potent and effective effects against Chagas disease. More recently, fexinidazole has been added as a new drug against African trypanosomiasis. Despite the success of nitroheterocycles, they had been discarded from drug discovery campaigns due to their mutagenic potential, but now they represent a promising source of inspiration for oral drugs that can replace those currently on the market. The examples provided by the trypanocidal activity of fexinidazole and the promising efficacy of the derivative DNDi-0690 against leishmaniasis seem to open a new window of opportunity for these compounds that were discovered in the 1960s. In this review, we show the current uses of nitroheterocycles and the novel derived molecules that are being synthesized against these neglected diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Diseases: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Strategies)
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21 pages, 1217 KiB  
Review
The Defensive Interactions of Prominent Infectious Protozoan Parasites: The Host’s Complement System
by Sajad Rashidi, Reza Mansouri, Mohammad Ali-Hassanzadeh, Antonio Muro, Paul Nguewa and Raúl Manzano-Román
Biomolecules 2022, 12(11), 1564; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12111564 - 26 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2396
Abstract
The complement system exerts crucial functions both in innate immune responses and adaptive humoral immunity. This pivotal system plays a major role dealing with pathogen invasions including protozoan parasites. Different pathogens including parasites have developed sophisticated strategies to defend themselves against complement killing. [...] Read more.
The complement system exerts crucial functions both in innate immune responses and adaptive humoral immunity. This pivotal system plays a major role dealing with pathogen invasions including protozoan parasites. Different pathogens including parasites have developed sophisticated strategies to defend themselves against complement killing. Some of these strategies include the employment, mimicking or inhibition of host’s complement regulatory proteins, leading to complement evasion. Therefore, parasites are proven to use the manipulation of the complement system to assist them during infection and persistence. Herein, we attempt to study the interaction´s mechanisms of some prominent infectious protozoan parasites including Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, Trypanosoma, and Leishmania dealing with the complement system. Moreover, several crucial proteins that are expressed, recruited or hijacked by parasites and are involved in the modulation of the host´s complement system are selected and their role for efficient complement killing or lysis evasion is discussed. In addition, parasite’s complement regulatory proteins appear as plausible therapeutic and vaccine targets in protozoan parasitic infections. Accordingly, we also suggest some perspectives and insights useful in guiding future investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Diseases: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Strategies)
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