TY - JOUR
T1 - Targeting lipid biosynthesis and salvage in apicomplexan parasites for improved chemotherapies
AU - Coppens, Isabelle
N1 - Funding Information:
I thank all former and current members of my laboratory for their scientific contributions highlighted in this Review. I am also grateful to J. Romano for editorial assistance and scientific comments and to A. Odom for discussions on sphingolipids in malaria. Finally, I acknowledge grants from the US National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - Apicomplexa are some of the most widespread and poorly controlled pathogens in the world. The metabolism of lipids in these parasites, which include Plasmodium spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium spp., is essential for the production of infectious progeny and pathogen persistence in their mammalian hosts. Metabolic maps of apicomplexan lipid syntheses reveal auxotrophies for many lipid species, which force these parasites to meet their high demand for lipids through networks of both synthesis and scavenging. Here, I review the unique lipid biosynthetic enzymes and lipid transporter systems of Apicomplexa, focusing on isoprenoids, sphingolipids and cholesterol, and highlight promising chemotherapeutic targets in the lipid synthetic and salvage pathways.
AB - Apicomplexa are some of the most widespread and poorly controlled pathogens in the world. The metabolism of lipids in these parasites, which include Plasmodium spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium spp., is essential for the production of infectious progeny and pathogen persistence in their mammalian hosts. Metabolic maps of apicomplexan lipid syntheses reveal auxotrophies for many lipid species, which force these parasites to meet their high demand for lipids through networks of both synthesis and scavenging. Here, I review the unique lipid biosynthetic enzymes and lipid transporter systems of Apicomplexa, focusing on isoprenoids, sphingolipids and cholesterol, and highlight promising chemotherapeutic targets in the lipid synthetic and salvage pathways.
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U2 - 10.1038/nrmicro3139
DO - 10.1038/nrmicro3139
M3 - Review article
C2 - 24162026
AN - SCOPUS:84888013328
SN - 1740-1526
VL - 11
SP - 823
EP - 835
JO - Nature Reviews Microbiology
JF - Nature Reviews Microbiology
IS - 12
ER -