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Praziquantel: An Enigmatic, Yet Effective, Drug

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Schistosoma mansoni

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2151))

Abstract

Praziquantel is a remarkably effective drug for the treatment of schistosomiasis. It has few side effects, some of which have been attributed to its inactive enantiomer. Few, if any, verified cases of drug resistance have been reported in a clinical setting. The preponderance of scientific evidence suggests that the drug works by dysregulating calcium homeostasis in the worm. Voltage-gated calcium channels have been proposed as the main pharmacological target of praziquantel, although no direct evidence of interaction with this protein is available. Here, the biochemical pharmacology of praziquantel is briefly reviewed and a hypothesis for its mechanism proposed. This hypothesis suggests that the drug works, in part, by disrupting an interaction between a voltage-gated calcium channel (SmCav1B) and an accessory protein, SmTAL1.

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Acknowledgments

I thank my colleagues and students for many interesting discussions on molecular parasitology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

    David J. Timson

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  1. David J. Timson
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Correspondence to David J. Timson .

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  1. School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

    David J. Timson

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Timson, D.J. (2020). Praziquantel: An Enigmatic, Yet Effective, Drug. In: Timson, D.J. (eds) Schistosoma mansoni. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2151. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0635-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0635-3_1

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-0634-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-0635-3

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