ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Liz Hedstrom, a Brandeis University biochemist, presented the latest research on cryptosporidium in a speech at the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s annual meeting last Sunday, according to medicalnewstoday.com.
Hedstrom’s talk, titled “Targeting a prokaryotic protein in a eukaryotic parasite,” focused on her research on IMPDH, a key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of RNA and DNA, the article stated.
According to the story, Hedstrom and her research partners showed that IMPDH inhibitors block cryptosporidium from proliferating in vitro — a breakthrough that could lead to an effective treatment to prevent the waterborne parasite.
Hedstrom identified more than 50 compounds that block the action of Cryptosporidium IMPDH and is working on improving the compounds’ potency, bioavailability and metabolic stability, the report stated.
“It’s a difficult problem, but we think that we have some very promising compounds,” said Hedstrom.
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