01555nas a2200181   4500000000100000008004100001653002100042653002400063653001800087653001600105653001900121100001000140245009600150300001200246490000800258520109400266022001301360       2016                            d10aPhenotypic assay10aMechanism of Action10aLeishmaniasis10aDrug target10aDrug Discovery1 aNo JH00aVisceral leishmaniasis: Revisiting current treatments and approaches for future discoveries  a113-1230 v1553 a<p>The current treatments for visceral leishmaniasis are old and toxic with limited routes of administration. The emergence of drug-resistant Leishmania threatens the efficacy of the existing reservoir of antileishmanials, leading to an urgent need to develop new treatments. It is particularly important to review and understand how the current treatments act against Leishmania in order to identify valid drug targets or essential pathways for next-generation antileishmanials. It is equally important to adapt newly emerging biotechnologies to facilitate the current research on the development of novel antileishmanials in an efficient fashion. This review covers the basic background of the current visceral leishmaniasis treatments with an emphasis on the modes of action. It briefly discusses the role of the immune system in aiding the chemotherapy of leishmaniasis, describes potential new antileishmanial drug targets and pathways, and introduces recent progress on the utilization of high-throughput phenotypic screening assays to identify novel antileishmanial compounds.</p>
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