Calcium channels (CCs), a group of ubiquitously expressed membrane proteins, are involved in many pathophysiological processes of protozoan parasites. Our understanding of CCs in cell signaling, organelle function, cellular homeostasis, and cell cycle control has led to improved insights into their structure and functions. In this article, we discuss CCs characteristics of five major protozoan parasites Plasmodium, Leishmania, Toxoplasma, Trypanosoma, and Cryptosporidium. We provide a comprehensive review of current antiparasitic drugs and the potential of using CCs as new therapeutic targets. Interestingly, previous studies have demonstrated that human CC modulators can kill or sensitize parasites to antiparasitic drugs. Still, none of the parasite CCs, pumps, or transporters has been validated as drug targets. Information for this review draws from extensive data mining of genome sequences, chemical library screenings, and drug design studies. Parasitic resistance to currently approved therapeutics is a serious and emerging threat to both disease control and management efforts. In this article, we suggest that the disruption of calcium homeostasis may be an effective approach to develop new anti-parasite drug candidates and reduce parasite resistance.

中文翻译：

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钙稳态的新兴范式作为原生动物寄生虫的新治疗靶点

钙通道 (CCs) 是一组普遍表达的膜蛋白，参与了原生动物寄生虫的许多病理生理过程。我们对细胞信号传导、细胞器功能、细胞稳态和细胞周期控制中的 CCs 的理解导致对它们的结构和功能的深入了解。在本文中，我们讨论了五种主要原生动物寄生虫疟原虫、利什曼原虫、弓形虫、锥虫和隐孢子虫的 CCs 特征. 我们对当前的抗寄生虫药物以及使用 CCs 作为新治疗靶点的潜力进行了全面回顾。有趣的是，先前的研究表明，人类 CC 调节剂可以杀死寄生虫或使寄生虫对抗寄生虫药物敏感。尽管如此，没有一种寄生虫 CC、泵或转运蛋白被证实为药物靶点。本综述的信息来自基因组序列的广泛数据挖掘、化学文库筛选和药物设计研究。对目前批准的疗法的寄生抗性是对疾病控制和管理工作的严重且新出现的威胁。在本文中，我们建议破坏钙稳态可能是开发新的抗寄生虫候选药物和降低寄生虫抗性的有效方法。