DNA TOPOISOMERASES - A NEW TWIST FOR ANTIPARASITIC CHEMOTHERAPY

The parasitic protozoa are notorious for their bizarre cellular struct ures and metabolic pathways, a characteristic also true for their nucl eic acids. Despite these florid differences from mammalian cells, howe ver, it has proven surprisingly difficult to devise novel chemotherapy against these pathogens. In recent years, the DNA topoisomerases from parasites have been the focus of considerable study, not only because they are intrinsically interesting, but also because they may provide a target for much-needed new antiparasitic chemotherapy. 0167-4781/98 /$ - see front matter (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.