Original title: Functional annotation hypothetical proteins: a world to be explored in drug development in Trypanosomatids
Authors: Raissa Santos de Lima,Ana Carolina Silva Bulla,Manuela Leal da Silva
In this article, the authors explore the use of hypothetical proteins as potential targets for new drug development. They focus specifically on trypanosomatids, which are responsible for neglected tropical diseases such as Chagas Disease, Leishmaniasis, and Human African Trypanosomiasis. Using functional prediction methods based on both sequence and structure, the authors analyze the hypothetical proteins of the pathogenic agents that cause these diseases.
Through their analysis, the authors predict functional domains for various proteins in different trypanosomatids. They group these domains based on their presence in multiple species and investigate their potential as targets for multi-target therapies.
The authors review existing literature to gather information about these domains, their roles in metabolic processes, and their potential as drug sites. They identify three domains, TPR, Nuc deoxyrib tr, and MIX, as particularly promising targets due to their conservation, ability to affect multiple species, and exclusivity.
Overall, this article highlights the potential of hypothetical proteins as alternative targets for drug development in neglected tropical diseases caused by trypanosomatids.
Original article: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.07.570673v1