Metabolomic analysis of protozoan parasites

Abstract

Protozoan parasites cause a number of important diseases in humans, including malaria, African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease and the leishmaniases. Current therapeutics for these diseases are limited and their effectiveness is being further undermined by the emergence of drug-resistant parasite strains. Parasite genome sequencing projects have provided new insights into the metabolic capacity of these pathogens and have highlighted potential drug targets. However, these genome-based reconstructions of metabolic networks are incomplete and we still have only a limited understanding of the metabolic requirements of these pathogens during infection. Metabolomics has emerged as a powerful new tool for investigating parasite metabolism and host responses, complementing more established omics technologies as well as being useful as a stand-alone technique.