Targeting of Leishmania proteins by β-Lapachone derivatives reveals a promising multitarget candidate
Laércio Mariano-Fernandes, Jacilene Silva, Matheus Nunes da Rocha, Márcia Machado Marinho, Emmanuel Silva Marinho · 2026
Read Targeting of Leishmania proteins by β-Lapachone derivatives reveals a promising multitarget candidate by Laércio Mariano-Fernandes, Jacilene Silva, Matheus Nunes da Rocha, Márcia Machado Marinho, Emmanuel Silva Marinho (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13242429.txt.
Description
Laércio Mariano-Fernandes and colleagues used computer modeling to hunt for new drug candidates against Leishmania, the parasite behind leishmaniasis. Their paper appeared in Archives of Microbiology in 2026. They started from beta-lapachone, a compound from the lapacho tree, and tested a family of related molecules. Docking tests checked how each one fit several proteins the parasite needs to survive.
One offshoot, called LPI3, stood out by binding well to more than one target at once. Later modeling suggested its protein complexes stay stable, and its predicted safety and uptake traits looked good for a drug. Current drugs for this disease are costly, slow, and facing resistance, above all in infected dogs that keep it spreading. LPI3 is offered as a lead compound for real lab testing.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Laércio Mariano-Fernandes, Jacilene Silva, Matheus Nunes da Rocha, Márcia Machado Marinho, Emmanuel Silva Marinho |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 98 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |