Metabolomics-based studies in the field of Leishmania/leishmaniasis

Abstract

Leishmania is a neglected protozoan parasite which creates some problems for public health with different clinical infections in different countries around. Due to the lack of an effective drug without side effects and the emergence drug resistance, there is an urgent need to introduce the novel drug targets and new drugs and vaccines to control leishmaniasis during recent years, metabolomics and other ‘‘Omics” platforms has become an important approach to comprehensive knowledge of the Leishmania  parasites biology. The study of metabolite profiles can open the insights for discovering novel therapeutic targets in this infection in both of the parasites and human host. In addition, specifying the metabolomics profile changes among promastigotes, amastigotes and during metacyclogenesis can pay the way for achieving parasite survival parameters and the host-parasite interaction. The previous studies in this field have been extracted from the databases, literature and their detailed major concepts. The present review highlights the role of metabolomics approach in the field of Leishmania research. Also, several important metabolite signatures introduced in various aspect of leishmania parasite such as drug resistance and parasite biology which would be useful in the field of biomarker and drug discovery process. Finally, metabolomics plays a potential role in introducing metabolic pathways related to Leishmania parasite and its treatment design.

Keywords:  Omics, System biology, Metabolomics, Leishmania, Parasite, Leishmaniasis, Biomarker