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Averting transmission: A pivotal target to manage amoebiasis
Author(s) -
Rawat Aadish,
Singh Parikshit,
Jyoti Anupam,
Kaushik Sanket,
Srivastava Vijay Kumar
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemical biology and drug design
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.59
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1747-0285
pISSN - 1747-0277
DOI - 10.1111/cbdd.13699
Subject(s) - amoebiasis , entamoeba histolytica , disease , naegleria fowleri , biology , malaria , transmission (telecommunications) , protozoan parasite , amoebic liver abscess , druggability , parasitic disease , immunology , medicine , meningoencephalitis , liver abscess , parasite hosting , computer science , pathology , telecommunications , biochemistry , genetics , abscess , world wide web , gene
Amoebiasis is a parasitic infectious disease caused by the enteric protozoan Entamoeba histolytica , a leading basis of deaths accounted to parasites, succeeding malaria and schistosomiasis. Conventional treatment methodologies used to deal with amoebiasis mainly rely on the administration of anti‐amoebic compounds and vaccines but are often linked with substantial side‐effects on the patient. Besides, cases of development of drug resistance in protozoans have been recorded, contributing further to the reduction in the efficiency of the treatment. Loopholes in the efficacious management of the disease call for the development of novel methodologies to manage amoebiasis. A way to achieve this is by targeting the essential metabolic processes of ‘encystation’ and ‘excystation’, and the associated biomolecules, thus interrupting the biphasic life cycle of the parasite. Technologies like the CRISPR‐Cas9 system can efficiently be exploited to discover novel and essential molecules that regulate the protozoan's metabolism, while efficiently manipulating and managing the known drug targets, leading to an effective halt and forestall to the enteric infection. This review presents a perspective on these essential metabolic processes and the associated molecules that can be targeted efficaciously to prevent the transmission of amoebiasis, thus managing the disease and proving to be a fruitful endeavour.