Praziquantel: An Enigmatic, Yet Effective, Drug

David J. Timson

doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-0635-3_1

Praziquantel: An Enigmatic, Yet Effective, Drug

David J. Timson

Centre for Lifelong Health

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding with ISSN or ISBN › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

Praziquantel is a remarkably effective drug for the treatment of schistosomiasis. It has few side effects, some of which have been attributed to its inactive enantiomer. Few, if any, verified cases of drug resistance have been reported in a clinical setting. The preponderance of scientific evidence suggests that the drug works by dysregulating calcium homeostasis in the worm. Voltage-gated calcium channels have been proposed as the main pharmacological target of praziquantel, although no direct evidence of interaction with this protein is available. Here, the biochemical pharmacology of praziquantel is briefly reviewed and a hypothesis for its mechanism proposed. This hypothesis suggests that the drug works, in part, by disrupting an interaction between a voltage-gated calcium channel (SmCav1B) and an accessory protein, SmTAL1.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Schistosoma mansoni
Subtitle of host publication	Methods and Protocols
Editors	David J. Timson
Place of Publication	New York, NY
Publisher	Springer US
Pages	1-8
Number of pages	8
Volume	2151
ISBN (Print)	9781071606353
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0635-3_1
Publication status	Published - 26 May 2020

Publication series

Name	Methods in Molecular Biology
Publisher	Springer
Volume	2151

Keywords

Calcium signaling
Neglected tropical disease
Schistosomiasis
SmTAL1
Voltage-gated calcium channels

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10.1007/978-1-0716-0635-3_1

PZQ_minireview_UPDAT_EAccepted author manuscript, 165 KB

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Praziquantel: An Enigmatic, Yet Effective, Drug

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