Postgraduate research opportunities Protein kinases as drug target against the infectious disease Human Leishmaniasis

Protein kinases regulate vital processes like differentiation, proliferation, adaptation and motility in all cells. The human parasite Leishmania like other eukaryotes relies on signal transduction via reversible phosphorylation. As such parasite protein kinases are potential drug targets to be used to treat leishmaniasis, a human disease, which dependent on the parasite species and the immunological background of the host can be fatal. The project is comprised of a variety of different methods including CRISPR-Cas9, molecular biology, protein biochemistry, cell biology and screening. Genes will be cloned using modern cloning technologies. Recombinant proteins will be expressed using bacterial expression systems followed by purification and enzyme assays. Interactions of protein kinases with their interaction partners will be analysed in vivo using genetically modified parasites for proximity labelling (BioID) and mass spectrometry.

Further information

Wiese, M.. A mitogen-activated (MAP) protein kinase homologue of Leishmania mexicana is essential for parasite survival in the infected host. EMBO J., 17, 2619-2628 (1998)

Wiese, M. Leishmania MAP kinases – familiar proteins in an unusual context. Internat. J. Parasitol. 37(10), 1053-62 (2007)

John von Freyend S, Rosenqvist H, Fink A, Melzer IM, Clos J, Jensen ON, and Wiese M. LmxMPK4, an essential mitogen-activated protein kinase of Leishmania mexicana is phosphorylated and activated by the STE7-like protein kinase LmxMKK5. Int J Parasitol. 40(8), 969-78 (2010)