Pharmacogenetics of praziquantel in Zimbabweans

The control of schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease contracted via contact with contaminated fresh water sources, is heavily reliant on the drug praziquantel (PZQ). For a treatment with PZQ to be successful, the patient must have a high enough concentration of the drug in circulation to kill the parasites. However, differences in the genetics of certain individuals can alter this response to PZQ and the success of a treatment, a mechanism termed pharmacogenetics. Despite the widespread use of PZQ in Africa, the characterisation of pharmacogenetics in African populations has been scarce, with only one previous study published. Therefore, we aimed to identify pharmacogenetic differences associated with the success or failure of a treatment with PZQ using schistosome-infected Zimbabweans. Six enzymes key in PZQ metabolism were mapped to the Zimbabwean genomic DNA, to find variants significantly associated with the success or failure of a PZQ treatment. Overall, this study adds to the genomic characterisation of a diverse population in Africa and identified variants relevant to other pharmacogenetic studies crucial for the development and usage of drugs in these populations.