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Proteases as Virulence Factors in Leishmania: Focus on Serine Proteases as Possible Therapeutic Targets

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Proteases in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Advances in Biochemistry in Health and Disease ((ABHD,volume 7))

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Abstract

Leishmaniasis is one of the most assorted and intricate of all vector borne diseases caused by the genus Leishmania. Survival of Leishmania parasites inside the mammalian host needs a set of virulence factors, among them, Leishmania proteases have paramount importance. Several of these proteases have been identified as potential virulence factors for their crucial roles in the invasion of the host via parasite migration through tissue barriers, degradation of host proteins for nutrition purpose, immune evasion and activation of inflammation. Hence, the investigation on proteases in Leishmania is proposed as a valuable approach to enhance our knowledge on host-parasite interaction. Through various studies, a number of metalloproteases and cysteine proteases have been implicated as major components in host invasion by modulating host cell signaling for the establishment and continuation of infection by Leishmania. But, the roles of serine proteases in leishmaniasis have not been investigated adequately. In this review, we will discuss the significance of Leishmania proteases in parasite lifecycle and their possible accountability as a new drug target with special emphasis on Leishmania serine proteases.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are also due to the University Grant Commission (New Delhi) and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (New Delhi), Govt. of India for financing this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, 741235, West Bengal, India

    Partha Das, MD Nur Alam & Tapati Chakraborti Ph.D.

  2. Infectious Disease and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Tripti De

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  1. Partha Das
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  2. MD Nur Alam
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  4. Tapati Chakraborti Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Tapati Chakraborti Ph.D. .

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal, India

    Sajal Chakraborti

  2. Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manitoba, St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    Naranjan S. Dhalla

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Das, P., Alam, M.N., De, T., Chakraborti, T. (2013). Proteases as Virulence Factors in Leishmania: Focus on Serine Proteases as Possible Therapeutic Targets. In: Chakraborti, S., Dhalla, N. (eds) Proteases in Health and Disease. Advances in Biochemistry in Health and Disease, vol 7. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9233-7_9

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