Biosynthesis of Galactofuranose in Kinetoplastids:  Novel Therapeutic Targets for Treating Leishmaniasis and Chagas' Disease

<table>Biosynthetic pathways of Gal<i>f</i>. (a) In the Leloir pathway, Gal is transported to the cytoplasm where it is converted to galactose-1-phosphate by galactokinase (GK). Galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase (GalPUT) and UDP-Glc 4′ epimerase (GalE) are involved in the synthesis of UDP-galactose. (b) Alternatively, galactose can be directly converted to UDP-galactose by the Isselbacher pathway by UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase (USP). (c) UDP-Galactose is then converted to UDP-Gal<i>f</i>  by UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM), and UDP-Gal<i>f</i>  is subsequently added to the glycocalyx by Galactofuranosyl transferases (GalfT).</table>

Enzyme Research

fig2

Figure 2

Figure 2: Biosynthesis of Galactofuranose in Kinetoplastids:  Novel Therapeutic Targets for Treating Leishmaniasis and Chagas' Disease 