Nature Communications (Mar 2023)

Nemacol is a small molecule inhibitor of C. elegans vesicular acetylcholine transporter with anthelmintic potential

  • Sean Harrington,
  • Jacob Pyche,
  • Andrew R. Burns,
  • Tina Spalholz,
  • Kaetlyn T. Ryan,
  • Rachel J. Baker,
  • Justin Ching,
  • Lucien Rufener,
  • Mark Lautens,
  • Daniel Kulke,
  • Alexandre Vernudachi,
  • Mostafa Zamanian,
  • Winnie Deuther-Conrad,
  • Peter Brust,
  • Peter J. Roy

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37452-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 14

Abstract

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Harrington et al report their discovery of Nemacol, which is a small molecule inhibitor of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT). VAChT loads synaptic vesicles with acetylcholine and is a key point of vulnerability in animals. Harrington et al show that Nemacol has nematode selectivity and potential utility against nematode parasites.