《生命科学》 2018, 30(6): 621-627
摘 要：摘 要：交替氧化酶(alternative oxidase， AOX) 是线粒体呼吸电子传递链中抗氰呼吸途径的末端氧化酶，它广泛存在于高等植物、藻类、部分真菌及原生生物中。同时，AOX 也被发现存在于某些人体寄生虫中，如布氏锥虫(Trypanosoma brucei) 等。布氏锥虫可引起人类“嗜睡病”，不经治疗往往有致命的危险。据统计，在非洲地区每年有高达7 000 多万人存在感染布氏锥虫病的风险。值得注意的是，人类细胞中不含有AOX。因此，AOX 可能是治疗该类疾病最有效的潜在靶标。现主要就布氏锥虫交替氧化酶的特点及其抑制剂的设计和作用效果进行阐述，并展望AOX 抑制剂的应用前景及研究挑战。
Abstract: Abstract: Alternating oxidase (AOX) is the terminal oxidase that mediates the cyanide-insensitive respiration pathway in the mitochondrial respiratory electron transport chain. It has been widely found in higher plants， algae， some fungi and protozoa. Interestingly， AOX has also been found in human parasites， such as Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei). It is evident that Trypanosoma brucei causes human "sleeping sickness" and is often fatal without treatment. In addition， more than 70 million people in Africa are at risk of contracting Brucella trypanosomiasis each year. However， there is no AOX protein in human cells. Therefore， AOX may be an attractive target for treating this kind of disease. In this paper， the characteristics of the T. brucei AOX， the design and effect of the AOX inhibitors are summarized， and the application prospects and research challenges of AOX inhibitors are also discussed.
