The apicoplast as a drug target.

Abstract

The apicoplast is a rudimentary plastid, non-photosynthetic, present in the majority of the Apicomplexan parasites with the exception of Cryptosporidium spp. and Gregarina spp., that may have lost the apicoplast during their evolution. Apicomplexan parasites are responsible for several life-threatening diseases with high economic importance in humans and animals and, serious health concern worldwide such as malaria and toxoplasmosis. Because of that, different drugs are used in the treatment and in the control of these two diseases. Surprisingly, several antibiotics for prokaryote can inhibit the replication of these protozoan. The apicoplast harbours four metabolic pathways for fatty acid, isoprenoid, heme and iron sulphur cluster synthesis, that are also in plants. Therefore, the apicoplast is a good therapeutic target due to this organelle divergent from the host. However, though some antibiotics are able to disrupt the plastid function, they are not able to kill the parasite immediately, generating a delayed death phenotype.