A NOVEL SCREEN FOR INHIBITORS OF FUNGAL GPI-ANCHORING

描述（由申请人提供）：也许最显着的区别 真菌细胞和人类细胞之间的区别在于真菌细胞被包裹在一层壁中 保护他们免受外部环境的伤害细胞壁扮演着 在真菌生理学的各个方面都发挥着重要的作用。人类细胞 缺乏细胞壁和潜在的生物合成和调节机制， 这表明，靶向细胞壁合成和组装的药物 将是安全和特异性的抗真菌药物。目前的治疗方法包括两性霉素 B和多种抑制膜甾醇生物合成的唑类。 不幸的是，两性霉素B对人有毒，并且对人具有临床耐药性。 唑类药物在增加。这些意见强调，显然需要新的 抗真菌药 在第一阶段SBIR应用中，我们建议开发一种新的屏幕， 靶向真菌细胞壁组装的重要步骤，即， GPI类甘露糖蛋白的细胞外锚定。这将是完成 有两个具体目标：1）。开发一种筛选方法来检测 GPI-甘露糖蛋白锚定到细胞壁中; 2）.提取物筛选 使用Aim One中开发的测定法测定抑制剂。 拟议商业应用：不可用

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant):Perhaps the most striking difference between fungal cells and human cells is that fungal cells are encased in a wall that protects them from a hostile external environment. The cell wall plays a dynamic role in all aspects of fungal physiology. The fact that human cells lack a cell wall and the underlying biosynthetic and regulatory machinery to make the wall, suggests that drugs targeting cell-wall synthesis and assembly will be safe and specific antifungals. Current treatments include Amphotericin B and a variety of azoles that inhibit membrane-sterol biosynthesis. Unfortunately, Amphotericin B is toxic to humans and clinical resistance to azoles is increasing. These observations underscore the clear need for new antifungals. In this Phase I SBIR application, we propose to develop a novel screen that targets an essential step in fungal cell-wall assembly, namely, the extracellular anchorage of GPI-class mannoproteins. This will be accomplished in two specific aims: 1). Development of a screen to detect inhibitors of GPI-mannoprotein anchoring into the cell wall; 2). Screening of extracts for inhibitors using the assay developed in Aim One. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: NOT AVAILABLE