Wolbachia Ferrochelatase as a potential drug target against filarial infections

Filarial infections are among the world's most disturbing diseases caused by 3 major parasitic worms; Onchocerca volvulus, Wuchereria bancrofti, and Brugia malayi, affecting more than 500 million people worldwide. Currently used drugs for mass drug administration (MDA) have been met with several challenges including the development of complications in individuals with filaria co-infections and parasitic drug resistance. The filarial endosymbiont, Wolbachia, has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for filariasis elimination, due to the dependence of the filaria on this endosymbiont for survival. Here, we target an important enzyme in the Wolbachia heme biosynthetic pathway (ferrochelatase), using high-throughput virtual screening and molecular dynamics with MM-PBSA calculations. We identified four drug candidates; Nilotinib, Ledipasvir, 3-benzhydryloxy-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane, and 2-(4-Amino-piperidin-1-yl)-ethanol as potential small molecules inhibitors as they could compete with the enzyme's natural substrate (Protoporphyrin IX) for active pocket binding. This prevents the worm from receiving the heme molecule from Wolbachia for their growth and survival, resulting in their death. This study which involved targeting enzymes in biosynthetic pathways of the parasitic worms' endosymbiont (Wolbachia), has proven to be an alternative therapeutic option leading to the discovery of new drugs, which will help facilitate the elimination of parasitic infections.