Syllabus
Biochemistry of Parasites - syllabus
Oxygen and antioxidant mechanisms Reactive oxygen species, mechanisms of their formation and toxicity. Antioxidant defense of parasites. Energy metabolism of anaerobes Specific aspects of metabolism of anaerobic parasites. Trichomonads, Entamoeba, Giardia. Modes of action of chemotherapeutics. Energy metabolism of Kinetoplastida Specific aspects of metabolism of kinetoplastid parasites. Glycosome, function of mitochondria. Trypanosomes, Leishmania. Modes of action of chemotherapeutics. Some aspects of Apicomplexan metabolism Energy metabolism, mitochondria, apicoplast and food vacuole of Plasmodia. Erythrocyte modification. Modes of action of chemotherapeutics. Some aspects of helminth metabolism Specific aspects of metabolism of parasitic helminths. Energy metabolism, anaerobic mitochondrion. Ascaris, Fasciola, Schistosomes. Polyamines Structure, function and metabolism of polyamines in parasites. Proteases Classification of proteases, their role in parasites. Typical proteases of parasites.
Annotation
The course focuses on important features of metabolism of major protozoal and helminth parasites. It deals with carbohydrate catabolism, polyamine and lipid metabolism, purine and pyrimidine metabolism, proteases and antioxidant defenses of parasites. Where appropriate, the course stresses the differences in metabolism between parasites and their mammalian hosts and explains how these differences were exploited in antiparasitic drug design
J.J. Marr, M. Muller, Biochemistry and Molecular biology of Parasites. Academic Press Inc., San Diego, London, 1995