"Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation.
Protozoan parasites continue to cause a significant health and economic burden worldwide. As infectious organisms, they pose unique and difficult challenges due to a level of conservation of critical eukaryotic cellular pathways with their hosts. Gene regulation has been pinpointed as an essential p...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-12-01
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| Series: | PLoS Pathogens |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1010056 |
| _version_ | 1797827799071850496 |
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| author | Krista Fleck Malorie Nitz Victoria Jeffers |
| author_facet | Krista Fleck Malorie Nitz Victoria Jeffers |
| author_sort | Krista Fleck |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Protozoan parasites continue to cause a significant health and economic burden worldwide. As infectious organisms, they pose unique and difficult challenges due to a level of conservation of critical eukaryotic cellular pathways with their hosts. Gene regulation has been pinpointed as an essential pathway with enough divergence to warrant investigation into therapeutically targeting. Examination of human parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum, Toxoplasma gondii, and kinetoplastids have revealed that epigenetic mechanisms play a key role in their gene regulation. The enzymes involved in adding and removing epigenetic posttranslational modifications (PTMs) have historically been the focus of study. However, the reader proteins that recognize and bind PTMs, initiating recruitment of chromatin-modifying and transcription complexes, are now being realized for their critical role in regulation and their potential as drug targets. In this review, we highlight the current knowledge on epigenetic reader proteins in model parasitic protozoa, focusing on the histone acyl- and methyl-reading domains. With this knowledge base, we compare differences between medically relevant parasites, discuss conceivable functions of these understudied proteins, indicate gaps in knowledge, and provide current progress in drug development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:54:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bc205b3497f04968b30012f27b8662b4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-7366 1553-7374 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:54:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-bc205b3497f04968b30012f27b8662b42023-05-14T05:30:56ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Pathogens1553-73661553-73742021-12-011712e101005610.1371/journal.ppat.1010056"Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation.Krista FleckMalorie NitzVictoria JeffersProtozoan parasites continue to cause a significant health and economic burden worldwide. As infectious organisms, they pose unique and difficult challenges due to a level of conservation of critical eukaryotic cellular pathways with their hosts. Gene regulation has been pinpointed as an essential pathway with enough divergence to warrant investigation into therapeutically targeting. Examination of human parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum, Toxoplasma gondii, and kinetoplastids have revealed that epigenetic mechanisms play a key role in their gene regulation. The enzymes involved in adding and removing epigenetic posttranslational modifications (PTMs) have historically been the focus of study. However, the reader proteins that recognize and bind PTMs, initiating recruitment of chromatin-modifying and transcription complexes, are now being realized for their critical role in regulation and their potential as drug targets. In this review, we highlight the current knowledge on epigenetic reader proteins in model parasitic protozoa, focusing on the histone acyl- and methyl-reading domains. With this knowledge base, we compare differences between medically relevant parasites, discuss conceivable functions of these understudied proteins, indicate gaps in knowledge, and provide current progress in drug development.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1010056 |
| spellingShingle | Krista Fleck Malorie Nitz Victoria Jeffers "Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation. PLoS Pathogens |
| title | "Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation. |
| title_full | "Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation. |
| title_fullStr | "Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation. |
| title_full_unstemmed | "Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation. |
| title_short | "Reading" a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation. |
| title_sort | reading a new chapter in protozoan parasite transcriptional regulation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1010056 |
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