寄生原虫DNA解旋酶家族研究进展

寄生原虫是一类单细胞真核生物，是人和动物疾病的重要病原之一，给人类健康和畜牧业发展造成了严重的危害。DNA解旋酶是一类参与几乎所有生物DNA代谢的重要解旋酶，目前原虫DNA解旋酶的研究主要集中在恶性疟原虫，且被报道的DNA解旋酶多为人类或酵母的同源物，其保守基序与人类、酵母等都存在差异，是研究抗原虫药物的重要潜在靶标。笔者主要综述了经典解旋酶的保守结构域及其功能特点，介绍了各个解旋酶的极性与偏好底物等生化特性，汇总了已报道原虫DNA解旋酶的种类。目前报道的DNA解旋酶大多集中在恶性疟原虫，其中疟原虫含18种，利士曼原虫含3种，布氏锥虫和兔脑原虫均含2种，弓形虫含1种。同时介绍了目前原虫中较为引人关注DNA解旋酶：RecQ家族、DEAD-box家族、UvrD解旋酶家族和RuvB家族的功能研究进展，其中DEAD-box家族中有3种疟原虫特异性解旋酶PfPSH1/H2/H3并未在宿主人类中发现相似物，另一种解旋酶UvrD则与人类、小鼠、秀丽隐杆线虫等无同源性，而与细菌、真菌等同源性较高。笔者对原虫DNA解旋酶的基本特性和功能进行综述，阐述了目前原虫DNA解旋酶的研究进展及其作为药物靶标的可能...

Review on the Research of DNA Helicase Family in Parasitic Protozoa

Parasitic protozoa, a group of unicellular eukaryotes, are pathogens that can cause disease in both human and animal, resulting in serious risk to public health and livestock industry development.DNA helicases, an important class of DNA repair enzymes, are involved in the DNA metabolism of almost all organisms.At present, the research of protozoal DNA helicase mainly focuses on Plasmodium falciparum, the reported DNA helicases of protozoa are mostly homologs of human or yeast, however, their conserved motifs are different from those of human and yeast, and it is an important potential target for studying drugs against protozoa.In this paper, we reviewed the conservative domain and functional characteristics of classical helicases, introducing the biochemical properties of each helicase such as polarity and preferred substrate, summarizing the families of reported DNA helicases of protozoa.At present, most of the reported DNA helicases are concentrated in Plasmodium falciparum.There are 18 species of Plasmodium falciparum, 3 species of Leishmania, 2 species of Trypanosoma brucei and Encephalitozoon cuniculi, and 1 species of Toxoplasma gondii.We also presented the progress of functional studies of the more interesting DNA helicases in protozoa:The RecQ family, DEAD-box family, UvrD family and RuvB family, among which three Plasmodium-specific helicases, PfPSH1/H2/H3 in the DEAD-box family had not found analogues in the host human.Furthermore, UvrD, shows no any homology to Homo sapeins, Mus musculus and Caenorhabditis elegans, and has significant similarity with bacteria and fungi.In this study, we reviewed the basic properties and functions of protozoan DNA helicases, described the current progress of research on protozoan DNA helicases and their potential as drug targets, in order to provide new research ideas for the screening of anti-protozoal drug targets and the prevention and control of protozoal diseases.