Like other unicellular parasites, Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma brucei depend on the import of amino acids for their metabolism. Therefore amino acid transporters represent suitable drug targets but also potential drug targeting systems. In collaboration with the lab of Prof. Dan Zilberstein (Haifa, Israel) we contribute to this research by

• identifying amino acid transport systems and
• analyzing their functional properties e.g. by determining the substrate selectivity, and
• evaluating their role for parasite growth, development and pathogenicity (Shaked-Mishan et al., 2006, Darlyuk et al., 2009).

The increased knowledge on biochemical and functional properties will facilitate the identification of amino acid transporters that are promising candidates for drug targeting or represent potential drug targets.

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