Title:Proteinase Inhibitors: A Promising Drug Class for Treating Leishmaniasis
Volume: 15
Issue: 12
Author(s): Bernardo Acacio Santini Pereira, Franklin Souza-Silva, Mariana Silva-Almeida, Raquel Santos-de-Souza, Luiz Filipe Goncalves de Oliveira, Michelle Lopes Ribeiro-Guimaraes and Carlos Roberto Alves
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Leishmaniasis, Leishmania, proteinases, proteinase inhibitors, treatment, virulence factors.
Abstract: This review presents and discusses the current status and perspectives of leishmaniasis treatment, with a special
focus on the use of proteinase inhibitors. The history of treatment development, the first- and second-choice modern drugs
and the advantages and disadvantages of using proteinases inhibitors as leishmanicidal treatments are presented and discussed.
The reports gathered herein confirm the potential usefulness of proteinases inhibitors as an alternative or complement
to the current leishmaniasis treatments. They also support the hypothesis that a combined treatment with multiple
proteinase inhibitors may be efficient against Leishmania infections in vertebrate hosts.
