Reaction mechanisms and physiological roles of sulfur-containing amino acids degradation enzyme in pathogenic protozoa.

阿米巴病是世界范围内的主要传染病之一。我们专注于含硫氨基酸降解酶，它们只存在于病原体中，但在人类中缺失。我们研究了这些酶的反应机理、作为药物靶标的特性以及这些酶的生理作用。我们成功地从晶体结构水平上阐明了反应机理，并论证了先导化合物对阿米巴的毒性。我们的研究将为抗阿米巴新药的合理设计提供有价值的信息。

Amoebiasis is one of the major infectious diseases worldwide. We focus on the sulfur-containing amino acids degradation enzymes, which present exclusively in the pathogen but missing in humans. We investigated the reaction mechanism, the characterization as a drug target, and physiological roles of the enzymes. We successfully elucidated the reaction mechanism at crystal structure level, and demonstrated that how the lead compounds exhibited the toxicity to amoeba. Our research will provide the valuable information on the rational design of novel anti-amoebic drugs.