Phosphatases: Their Functions and Druggability in Pathogens

Dear Colleagues,

Protein kinases (PKs) and protein phosphatases (PPs) are well-known enzymes for monitoring the phosphorylation status of proteins to deliver appropriate functions. The role of these enzymes is tightly regulated via their own phosphorylation/dephosphorylation state and/or their interactions with diverse partners to fulfill and coordinate specific biological processes at the right time at the right place to maintain cellular homeostasis. Although more attention was focused on kinases to understand their roles in order to develop new means for therapeutic intervention, phosphatases started to emerge in the last years as key players to control different pathways during the cell cycle. Based on recent literature, PPs could not be any more ignored and seem to be involved in diseases and to be feasible drug targets.

In infectious microorganisms, though the functional characterization of phosphatomes is at its infancy, accumulating evidence from yeast and mammalian studies based on biochemical and reverse genetic approaches including multi-omics has shown the essential roles played by PPs. Moreover, some intracellular pathogens, including parasites and viruses manipulate the host phosphatases activities to facilitate their growth and division.

The aim of this Special Issue is to give a platform to researchers to exchange information and updates about PPs in bacteria, fungus, parasites, and agent hijacking host PPs, i.e., viruses to address challenges and future questions.

For this purpose, we cordially invite you to submit research articles, review articles, and short communications related to the various aspects of PPs in pathogens, dealing with molecular and functional characterization of these enzymes (structure, catalytic mechanism, regulation, and signaling pathways), pathogen–host interactions involving host phosphatases and phosphatases as drug targets.

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