在过去的二十年中，已经取得了很多进展，以减轻原生动物寄生虫疾病对全球健康的负担。2016年9月，斯里兰卡was declared free of malaria，这是一项巨大的成就，为其他国家效仿提供了希望。报告了曾经是撒哈拉以南非洲的主要死亡原因的人类非洲锥虫病（称为帽子或睡眠疾病）的病例已被堕落自2000年以来85％而且人们期望通过持续的努力，可能会在2030年消除这种疾病。但是，控制这种疾病的控制仍然存在重大挑战锥虫瘤而且缺乏在现场易于管理的安全药物。
利什曼虫的前景不太乐观sis and Chagas, tropical diseases which are caused by close relatives of theT. Bruceiparasite.
利什曼病
利什曼病is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with利什曼尼亚属。寄生虫，由沙蝇矢量传播。根据寄生虫的种类，感染可能会导致难看的皮肤病变（皮肤利什曼病或CL）或肝脏和脾脏（内脏利什曼病或VL）的潜在致命感染。该疾病在发展中国家的许多地方是地方性的，与极端贫困紧密相关。
Across the Middle East there has been asharp increase in cases of CL（也称为“ Aleppo Boil”）由于冲突，医疗基础设施的丧失和大众人口运动。
利什曼病的药物很少，在许多地区，选择的治疗方法仍然是基于重金属锑的有毒化合物的多次疼痛注射。南美洲苏里南的一项研究发现这是一个令人震惊的76％的CL患者尝试进行自我治疗of skin lesions using household chemicals, battery acid and even gunpowder, prior to seeking medical help.
查加斯病
查加斯病is caused by infection with another parasite related toT. Brucei–Trypanosoma cruzi– which causes an initial acute phase in which the patient experiences non-specific symptoms such as fever and malaise. If untreated, an estimated 30% of patients will go on to develop chronic disease characterised by chronic complications which may progress over a number of years.
While Chagas has traditionally been described as a vector-borne disease (transmitted by triatomids or Kissing Bugs),researchers suggestthis should now be recognised as a foodborne disease due to the ability of infectiveT. Cruzi寄生虫生存并传播为受污染的饮料，例如果汁。查加斯（Chagas）成为南美心脏病的主要原因之一，但迄今为止，尚无真正有效的药物来进行慢性感染。
开发新药
It is therefore very welcome news thata recent studyhas identified a new lead for the development of new drugs against the parasites causing HAT, leishmaniasis and Chagas.
This study was initiated by the testing of a library of a staggering 3 million compounds to identify which were able to kill parasites grown in culture, an approach known as phenotypic screening. Following testing on human cell lines and multiple steps of refinement, a single compound was identified which had activity against a panel of parasites in vitro and, most critically, could clear infections in rodent models without harm to the host.
How does it work?
In order to find out how this potential drug was killing parasites, the researchers cultivatedT. Cruziin the lab in the presence of sub lethal doses of the lead compound GNF6702. By slowly increasing the dose given, they were able to select for populations of parasites which had undergone mutations able to confer resistance to the compound. While it may seem counter-productive to produce resistant lines to a new drug, identifying the target of the compound will enable chemists to model the interaction between the drug and the interacting parasite molecule and hopefully improve both selectivity and potency.
因此，研究人员将这些菌株的基因组序列与原始寄生虫的基因组序列进行了比较。赋予抗药性的遗传变化被精确到了一个称为蛋白质体的大蛋白质复合物的一部分。该蛋白质体在降解真核细胞中的废物材料方面具有重要功能，并以与碎纸机相似的方式工作。不需要的蛋白质用小分子泛素标记，该分子充当降解的分类信号。
These ubiquitinated proteins are passed through the cylindrical structure of the large proteosome complex in which they are broken down into small peptide chains and ubiquitin. These breakdown products pass out of the complex and their component parts can then be recycled by the cell.
Although both host cells and parasites have a proteosome, GNF6702 was able to inhibit only the parasite complex, thus clearing the infection without harming the host. Further experiments showed that following treatment with GNF6702, parasites had a large accumulation of proteins that had been tagged with ubiquitin but had not been degraded, therefore confirming the proteosome to be the target of the compound.
三个价格？
该研究的媒体报道强调，一种化合物能够治疗所有三种疾病。但是，作者强调需要进一步研究。在所有这些疾病中使用单个化合物并不一定是一个优势，因为寄生虫位于主机内的不同环境中，最佳靶向可能需要一系列配方。
New drugs for HAT need to be able to penetrate the blood-brain-barrier asT. Bruceiresides in the central nervous system. Visceral leishmaniasis requires a systemic treatment whereas cutaneous leishmaniasis could potentially be targeted with a topical cream. Treatment of chronicT. Cruziremains a huge challenge as there are very few slow-growing parasites in disparate locations during this stage. Proliferation rate of the parasites may also vary in different locations, which is known to affect sensitivity to some drugs.
将GNF6702的开发成适合临床使用的药物将需要更多的细化，但是研究结果为针对这些被忽视的疾病提供了新的治疗剂，为新的疗法提供了急需的铅。
注释