Research findings published in international journals by a team of scientists of Allahabad University’s department of biochemistry promise to aid in the development of new drugs that can be better used for the treatment of lymphatic filariasis—a parasitic disease caused by microscopic, thread-like worms globally regarded as a neglected tropical disease (NTD).
The importance of the findings can be gauged from the fact that according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 40% of the world’s filariasis cases are in India alone and lymphatic filariasis is not a neglected disease for India as it may be in some other countries. It is a priority for elimination in a time-bound manner. India is committed to the goal of eradicating the disease from the country by the end of 2027, scientists point out.
The team of scientists including Amit Dubey, an Allahabad University (AU) alumnus and presently working with computational chemistry and drug discovery division of Quanta Calculus Pvt Ltd, Greater Noida along with Manish Kumar and Pawan Doharey and other scientists from the department of biochemistry, AU working under the leadership of dean (science) and head of the biochemistry department of AU Prof Bechan Sharma did this latest research on the diagnosis of the deadly disease lymphatic filariasis. Their findings have been published in the prestigious Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics of USA’s April 2023 edition.
“The lymphatic system maintains the body’s fluid balance and fights infection. The causative agents of lymphatic filariasis (LF) include mosquito-borne filarial nematodes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malai, and B timory. An estimated 90 per cent of LF cases are caused by W bancrofti (bancroftian filariasis),” explained Amit Dubey.
{{/usCountry}}“The lymphatic system maintains the body’s fluid balance and fights infection. The causative agents of lymphatic filariasis (LF) include mosquito-borne filarial nematodes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malai, and B timory. An estimated 90 per cent of LF cases are caused by W bancrofti (bancroftian filariasis),” explained Amit Dubey.
{{/usCountry}}Dubey said that when a mosquito bites at night, the pathogen starts increasing in the blood but remains hidden in the lungs during the day. “Because of this, many times the infection is not even detected. Filariasis is a mosquito-borne disease. In this disease, a person’s feet become so swollen that they become thick like an elephant’s feet, so it is often also known as elephant foot or elephantiasis,” he explained.
He said that Brugia malayi protein disulfide isomerase (BmPDI) is critical for parasite survival and is a new drug target. In our latest research, we studied and analysed the structural and functional changes in BmPDI using a combination of spectroscopic and computational molecular dynamics, he added.
The information obtained from our study is helpful in increasing understanding of the BmPDI protein structure-function relationship, and we can develop new drugs that can be better used for the treatment of lymphatic filariasis, Dubey said.