Nuclear receptors: emerging drug targets for parasitic diseases.
Parasitic worms infect billions of people worldwide. Current treatments rely on a small group of drugs that have been used for decades. A shortcoming of these drugs is their inability to target the intractable infectious stage of the parasite. As well-known therapeutic targets in mammals, nuclear receptors have begun to be studied in parasitic worms, where they are widely distributed and play key roles in governing metabolic and developmental transcriptional networks. One such nuclear receptor is DAF-12, which is required for normal nematode development, including the all-important infectious stage. Here we review the emerging literature that implicates DAF-12 and potentially other nuclear receptors as novel anthelmintic targets.
Zhu
Z
Wang
Nathaniel E
NE
Schaffer
Steven A
SA
Kliewer
David J
DJ
Mangelsdorf
D000818:Animals; D000969:Antinematodal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009348:Nematoda / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D000969:Antinematodal Agents; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear