TOPOISOMERASES IN KINETOPLASTIDS

Topoisomerases are enzymes that mediate topological changes in DNA tha t are essential for nucleic acid biosynthesis and for cell survival. T he kinetoplastid protozoa, which include pathogenic trypanosomes and L eishmania, have yielded an interesting variety of purified topoisomera se activities as well as several topoisomerase genes. In these parasit es, topoisomerases are involved in the metabolism of both nuclear and mitochondrial (kinetoplast) DNA. In this review, Christian Burri, Anne tte Bodley and Theresa Shapiro summarize what is known about topoisome rases in kinetoplastids, and consider the intriguing possibility that these enzymes may act as valuable antiparasite drug targets.