Microbial and host proteins

Microbial and host proteins refers to the collective set of proteins involved in the complex interface between a pathogen and its host, often referred to as the host-pathogen interactome (Casadevall & Pirofski, 2000). This broad category includes microbial virulence factors that manipulate host cell biology and host proteins that recognize or respond to these threats, such as Pattern Recognition Receptors (Janeway & Medzhitov, 2002). Because this term encompasses thousands of distinct molecules across diverse species, it does not constitute a single therapeutic target but rather a field of study (Dyer et al., 2008). In drug discovery, specific interactions within this group are targeted to inhibit pathogen entry, replication, or to modulate the host immune response (Finlay & Falkow, 1997). Examples of specific targets within this category include viral proteases or host-cell receptors like ACE2, but the collective term is too non-specific for drug labeling (Gordon et al., 2020). Consequently, this entry is classified as incorrect for the purposes of identifying a discrete molecular target in a pharmacological database. Understanding these interactions is crucial for developing anti-infectives and vaccines, but therapeutic intervention requires identifying specific, druggable nodes (Durmuş Tekir & Ülgen, 2013).

Other names

Host-pathogen interactomeMicrobial-host protein-protein interactionsPathogen-host interactions

Not applicable as this is a broad category of proteins rather than a single target.