Deciphering the Role of Protein Phosphatases in Apicomplexa: The Future of Innovative Therapeutics?

Abstract

Parasites belonging to the Apicomplexa phylum still represent a major public health and world-wide socioeconomic burden that is greatly amplified by the spread of resistances against known therapeutic drugs. Therefore, it is essential to provide the scientific and medical communities with innovative strategies specifically targeting these organisms. In this review, we present an overview of the diversity of the phosphatome as well as the variety of functions that phosphatases display throughout the Apicomplexan parasites’ life cycles. We also discuss how this diversity could be used for the design of innovative and specific new drugs/therapeutic strategies.

Keywords

• Apicomplexa
• <i>Plasmodium</i>
• <i>Toxoplasma</i>
• protein phosphatases
• phosphatome
• serine/threonine phosphatases