Sigalon | Shared With: Everyone - Dec 29 2007 | disease, prevention, pd
netwatch | Shared With: Everyone - May 18 2007 | science, databases, disease, tropical
Is the Achilles' heel of the malaria parasite one of the proteins that enable it to proliferate prodigiously in human liver cells? Or maybe one of the genes that activate when it takes up residence in a female mosquito's salivary glands? This new database, launched by an international team of scientists, can help pin down potential drug targets for malaria and other diseases, mainly tropical ones, that have gotten short shrift from pharmaceutical companies.
For five killer pathogens, including the tuberculosis bacterium and the parasite that causes African sleeping sickness, the TDR Targets Database compiles genomics data from GeneDB, Tuberculist, and other sources. Users hoping to improve their molecular marksmanship can hunt for proteins by structural features, including how many segments penetrate the cell membrane, or by whether they are essential for survival. The entries also rank potential targets on measures such as "druggability," which indicates whether small molecules are likely to stymie them.
Volume 316, Number 5825, Issue of 04 May 2007
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