Scientists from the University of São Paulo (USP), Unesp, the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) and the University of Cincinnati in the US have identified a protein that could become a target for new drugs against Chagas disease. The study was published in August in Communications Biology and is led by Marcelo Santos da Silva, a professor at USP’s Institute of Chemistry.
The protein is called IP6K. In laboratory tests with human heart cells, Trypanosoma cruzi parasites with less IP6K entered the cells and multiplied with difficulty, and did not reach their infective form. With no copy of the gene at all, the parasite could not survive.
The parasite’s IP6K is only about 25% similar to the human version, which could allow drugs with fewer unwanted effects. Today there are only two drugs for the disease, both from the 1970s, and they work mainly in the early stage. The World Health Organization estimates that about 8 million people are affected worldwide.
The results come from laboratory work only and have not been tested in people. The scientists now plan to study the role of IP6K in the parasite’s life cycle and look for parts of the protein that future drugs could target.
