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Putative Drug Target Identification in Tinea Causing Pathogen Trichophyton rubrum Using Subtractive Proteomics
Mohamed Hussain Syed Abuthakir1, Thomas Jebastin2, Velusamy Sharmila1
1Biochematics Laboratory, Department of Bioinformatics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 046, India.
Current Microbiology
|July 19, 2020
Summary
Researchers identified two novel drug targets in Trichophyton rubrum, a fungus causing skin infections. This study focused on finding targets unique to the fungus, avoiding human or gut bacteria proteins, to develop safer antifungal drugs.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Proteomics
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- Dermatophytes, such as Trichophyton, cause superficial fungal infections in skin, nails, and hair.
- Current antifungal drugs have side effects, driving the need for novel therapeutic targets.
- Trichophyton rubrum is a significant dermatophyte responsible for common human infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel drug targets in Trichophyton rubrum using subtractive proteomics.
- To find proteins essential for T. rubrum but absent in humans and their gut microbiota.
- To analyze the druggability and pathways of potential drug targets.
Main Methods:
- Subtractive proteomics approach analyzing the whole proteome of T. rubrum.
- Identification of proteins non-homologous to human proteins and human gut flora.
- Analysis of sub-cellular localization, functional classification, protein networks, and druggability.
- Inclusion of pathogen domain non-homology to human domains and gut microbiota.
Main Results:
- Identification of two novel drug targets specific to T. rubrum.
- These targets are absent in both human proteomes and human gut microbiota.
- Analysis confirmed the essentiality and druggability of the identified targets.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully identified two unique drug targets for T. rubrum.
- These targets represent promising candidates for developing safer and more effective antifungal therapies.
- The subtractive proteomics approach, with added validation steps, is effective for dermatophyte drug discovery.
