Publications by authors named "W C van Voorhis"

Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan parasite that causes severe diarrheal illness in children and each year nearly 50,000 children under age 5 die due to the disease. Despite tremendous research efforts, there remains a lack of effective therapies and vaccines. Novel inhibitors against N-myristoyltransferase of C.

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  • Drug development for congenital toxoplasmosis is challenging due to high adverse effects and poor efficacy of first-line therapies; bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) like BKI-1748 may offer a new treatment option.
  • In a study involving 19 pregnant sheep, those treated with BKI-1748 after infection showed lower fever and immunological responses compared to untreated counterparts.
  • The treated group had a higher percentage of healthy lambs at delivery and showed no evidence of congenital transmission of the parasite, unlike the untreated group where parasite DNA was detectable.
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Griselimycin, a cyclic depsidecapeptide produced by Streptomyces griseus, is a promising lead inhibitor of the sliding clamp component of bacterial DNA polymerases (β-subunit of Escherichia coli DNA pol III). It was previously shown to inhibit the Mycobacterium tuberculosis β-clamp with remarkably high affinity and selectivity - the peptide lacks any interaction with the human sliding clamp. Here, we used a structural genomics approach to address the prospect of broader-spectrum inhibition, in particular of β-clamps from Gram-negative bacterial targets.

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  • Trichomonas vaginalis is a one-celled parasite that causes trichomoniasis, the most common nonviral STD worldwide, and it uses mimicry of human proteins to evade the immune system.
  • The parasite produces a protein called TvMIF, which helps it survive stress, boosts prostate cell growth, and triggers inflammation, paralleling the effects of human MIF.
  • Recent studies have revealed the structure of TvMIF, showing it has a similar shape to human versions, suggesting that understanding this protein can aid in developing new drugs.
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: The chikungunya virus (CHIKV), transmitted by infected Aedes mosquitoes, has caused a significant number of infections worldwide. In Brazil, the emergence of the CHIKV-ECSA genotype in 2014 posed a major public health challenge due to its association with more severe symptoms. : This study aimed to shed new light on the host immune response by examining the whole-blood transcriptomic profile of both CHIKV-acute and chronically infected individuals from Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil, a region heavily affected by CHIKV, Dengue, and Zika virus epidemics.

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