Antiparasitic therapeutic peptidomimetics

Eukaryotic parasite organisms that live at the expense of a human or animal host organism, consuming host nutrients. Parasite infections are a global health issue, causing significant morbidity and mortality. The main classes of parasites that cause disease in humans are protozoa, helminths, and ectoparasites. Leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and African sleeping sickness are caused by kinetoplastid protozoa and endanger millions living in tropical or subtropical regions, often low-income countries. These conditions are neglected tropical diseases due to limited dedicated resources, and no vaccinations exist for the diseases. Available drugs are scarce, mainly toxic, and associated with side effects and complex administration methods. In addition, the emergence of drug resistance has led to increasing cases of treatment failure. These issues emphasize the need to develop new approaches to treat kinetoplastid diseases. One approach is to develop peptide-based therapy. Peptides are biomolecules involved in various physiological processes. Both natural and synthetic peptides are the basis of various therapeutic agents. Different peptides have anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral activities. Their structure and flexibility allow peptides to modulate various molecular mechanisms, making them attractive candidates as novel drugs. Although use of peptides has been restricted by rapid degradation and poor bioavailability and cell penetration, chemical modification of peptides has largely overcome these challenges, retaining their potential as effective treatments. While no peptides have yet been approved to treat parasitic diseases, extensive research is being conducted to discover peptide treatments. This chapter describes peptidic agents being developed to fight protozoan parasite infections. These include therapeutic, diagnostic, and drug delivery peptides, all with potential to address the challenges associated with kinetoplastid parasite infections.