Structural Insights into the <i>Giardia lamblia</i> Target of Rapamycin Homolog: A Bioinformatics Approach
TOR proteins, also known as targets of rapamycin, are serine/threonine kinases involved in various signaling pathways that regulate cell growth. The protozoan parasite <i>Giardia lamblia</i> is the causative agent of giardiasis, a neglected infectious disease in humans. In this study, we...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/15/11992 |
| Summary: | TOR proteins, also known as targets of rapamycin, are serine/threonine kinases involved in various signaling pathways that regulate cell growth. The protozoan parasite <i>Giardia lamblia</i> is the causative agent of giardiasis, a neglected infectious disease in humans. In this study, we used a bioinformatics approach to examine the structural features of GTOR, a <i>G. lamblia</i> TOR-like protein, and predict functional associations. Our findings confirmed that it shares significant similarities with functional TOR kinases, including a binding domain for the FKBP-rapamycin complex and a kinase domain resembling that of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinases. In addition, it can form multiprotein complexes such as TORC1 and TORC2. These results provide valuable insights into the structure–function relationship of GTOR, highlighting its potential as a molecular target for controlling <i>G. lamblia</i> cell proliferation. Furthermore, our study represents a step toward rational drug design for specific anti-giardiasis therapeutic agents. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |