Significance of Lipolytic Enzymes in Pathogenesis and Treatment of Neglected Diseases

Neglected diseases are infectious diseases that affect poor people of tropical countries. Drug resistance, lower availability of funds and research hinder the opportunities for the development of new drugs. The need for new drugs will persist until pathogens are eradicated. This calls for understanding the disease prognosis to initiate research for new drug targets and thus development of new drugs. As drug development is complex and expensive process, in silico drug development can aid in this regard by reducing time, effort and capital for the quest of a “better drug” for such neglected diseases. Recent knowledge about the genome and proteome has increased enthusiasm for the quest of new drug targets. One such potential target can be lipases which are involved in the lipid metabolism of pathogens. Lipases of pathogens have multitude of functions in many patho-physiological processes including virulence, transmission, life cycle development, modulation of host lipids and host immune responses. Thus the aim of this review is to describe the significance of lipases in the life cycle and pathogenesis of the pathogen and whether they can be used as drug targets. The development of research in this direction has also been brought forward. This may help in finding new drug targets for neglected disease.