IMR Press / FBL / Volume 25 / Issue 8 / DOI: 10.2741/4862

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Review
Protein kinases as potential anticandidal drug targets
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1 Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Gurugram (Manesar)122413, India
2 Department of Epidemic Disease Research, Institute of Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, 31441 Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Send correspondence to: Saif Hameed, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Gurugram (Manesar)-122413, India, Tel: 91-124-2337015, Fax: 01242337637, E-mail: saifhameed@yahoo.co.in
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2020, 25(8), 1412–1432; https://doi.org/10.2741/4862
Published: 1 March 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural genomics of human kinome)
Abstract

Candidal infections are increasing at an alarming rate due to hospital acquired infections causing high mortality rates worldwide. Moreover, the emergence of drug resistant Candida strains is the major impediment against effective therapeutics. Thus, there is an imperious need to search for novel antifungal drug targets. Among various fungi, Candida albicans is one of the most prevalent human fungal pathogen. Protein kinases modify other signaling molecules through phosphorylation and transduce extracellular stimuli for adaptation ensuing C. albicans growth, persistence and pathogenesis. In C. albicans, there are various kinds of kinases such as MAP (Mitogen Activated Protein) kinase cascade involving Hog1 (High-osmolarity glycerol) and Cek1 (C. albicans ERK-like Kinase1) mediated pathways, cyclin dependent pathway, cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) -dependent protein kinase pathway and TOR signaling pathway. Herein we have reviewed the variety of functions served by protein kinases in C. albicans. Additionally, we have discussed the inhibitors for targeting these kinases. Together, we explore the potential of these kinases as effective drug target and discuss the progress made in the development of inhibitors against these targets.

Keywords
MAP Kinase pathways
HOG pathway
Target of rapamycin
TOR
Signaling pathway
Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1
PDK1
Cek1
Candida albicans
ERK-like Kinase1
MAPK
Review
Figures
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