Review
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Yuqing Liu, Xin Chen, Yutong Che, Hongli Li, Zheyu Zhang, Weijun Peng, Jingjing Yang
Summary: Alzheimer's disease poses a serious threat to the health and safety of the elderly population and is a major public health concern. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in AD pathogenesis, providing potential avenues for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and drugs for the disease.
Article
Cell Biology
Xiao Liang, Rui Zhou, Yu Li, Lu Yang, Min Su, Keng Po Lai
Summary: Recent reports suggest that patients with hepatocholangiocarcinoma (CHOL) have a higher susceptibility to and mortality from coronavirus disease (COVID-19). There are currently no specific anti-CHOL/COVID-19 drugs. Vitamin A (VA) shows potential in treating CHOL/COVID-19 patients through its anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as immunopotentiation. The study identified nine vital therapeutic targets of VA against CHOL/COVID-19 and elucidated its pharmacological biotargets and mechanism of action for the first time.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Dafei Xie, Song He, Lu Han, Lianlian Wu, Hai Huang, Huan Tao, Pingkun Zhou, Xunlong Shi, Hui Bai, Xiaochen Bo
Summary: Inhibition of host protein functions using established drugs shows promising antiviral effects with safety profiles and decreased resistance. This study integrates known virus-targeted host proteins (VTHPs) and drug targets to propose a comprehensive strategy for identifying potential antiviral targets and repositioned drugs. The results provide insights for the development of novel antiviral host proteins and drugs for combating viral infections.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Qihang Hou, Jingxi Huang, Hammed Ayansola, Hori Masatoshi, Bingkun Zhang
Summary: The mammalian intestine is the largest immune organ, containing intestinal stem cells (ISC), differentiated epithelial cells, and gut resident-immune cells. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) threatens intestinal integrity and the continuous renewal of intestinal mucosal epithelium relies on ISC. Targeting inflamed mucosa healing may improve clinical symptoms and disease recurrence in IBD patients. Recent findings suggest that immune cells and cytokines play critical roles in ISC and intestinal epithelium regeneration, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches such as ISC transplantation. Integration of biological agents and ISC transplantation could revolutionize future therapy for IBD patients.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
M. Charveriat, F. Mouthon, W. Rein, A. Verkhratsky
Summary: Astrocytes play a crucial role in the central nervous system through gap junctions formed by connexins, influencing neurodegenerative diseases and pharmacological profiles of CNS drugs. Modulation of astrocytic connexins represents an innovative approach for CNS disorders and offers new therapeutic perspectives.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR BASIS OF DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Qing Ye, Rebecca A. Raese, Dajie Luo, Juan Feng, Wenjun Xin, Chunlin Dong, Yong Qian, Nancy Lan Guo
Summary: Breast cancer treatment can be improved through the identification of biomarkers for early detection and personalized therapy. A study identified 86 microRNAs that can distinguish breast cancer tumors from normal breast tissues with 90.4% accuracy. It also discovered potential tumor suppressors and oncomiRs, as well as new drug options for treating breast cancer. This study demonstrates the potential of an artificial intelligence pipeline in discovering biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and repositioning drugs for various types of cancer.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Ning Zhu, Bingwu Huang, Wenbing Jiang
Summary: The study utilized network pharmacology to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms of vitamin C in treating cardiovascular disease (CVD), identifying three core targets and relevant biological processes and signaling pathways involved in its therapeutic effects.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Carolyn J. Kravitz, Qin Yan, Don X. Nguyen
Summary: In recent years, it has been discovered that histone and DNA modifying enzymes play a role in different stages of metastasis. Epigenomic alterations can now be measured and detected in human tumors or liquid biopsies. Alterations in the epigenome may cause a loss in lineage integrity, leading to the development of malignant cell clones with a proclivity for relapse. Genetic aberrations acquired during tumor progression or therapeutic response, as well as the evolution of the stroma, can also contribute to these alterations. This review emphasizes the importance of leveraging chromatin and DNA modifying mechanisms as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for metastatic cancers.
CANCER AND METASTASIS REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Occam Kelly Graves, Woonghee Kim, Mehmet Ozcan, Sajda Ashraf, Hasan Turkez, Meng Yuan, Cheng Zhang, Adil Mardinoglu, Xiangyu Li
Summary: This study identified potential therapeutic target genes for lung adenocarcinoma and repurposed existing drugs. The effectiveness of these target genes and drugs was validated through in vitro experiments.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Qiang Wu, Fan Yang, Huaqiao Tang
Summary: This study aimed to determine the target of Paeteria scandens in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by analyzing the effective components of the compounds, constructing a drug-compound-target-disease network, and verifying the inhibitory effect of Paeteria scandens on NAFLD through experiments. The identified candidate targets of Paeteria scandens were shown to play significant roles in cell cycle, apoptosis, and related signal pathways, suggesting it may be a promising treatment strategy for NAFLD.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yangxin Li, Hui Huang, Bin Liu, Yu Zhang, Xiangbin Pan, Xi-Yong Yu, Zhenya Shen, Yao-Hua Song
Summary: Inflammasomes, as protein complexes in the innate immune system, play a dual role in diseases, with outcomes that can be either beneficial or detrimental depending on the disease and genetic background. The concept of inflammasome memory and the two-shot activation process are highlighted, along with the proposed M- and N-type inflammation models for targeting the inflammasome pathway in novel therapy development.
SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND TARGETED THERAPY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Kam Wa Chan, Kam Yan Yu, Wai Han Yiu, Rui Xue, Sarah Wing-Yan Lok, Hongyu Li, Yixin Zou, Jinyuan Ma, Kar Neng Lai, Sydney Chi-Wai Tang
Summary: This study explored the potential mechanism of action of Rehmannia-6 variations in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy through a system pharmacology approach. The TNF signaling pathway was identified as a core mechanism, involving various biological processes related to disease progression. Clinical trials are needed to further validate the identified putative targets.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fabiola De Marchi, Ivana Munitic, Lea Vidatic, Elisa Papic, Valentino Racki, Jerneja Nimac, Igor Jurak, Gabriela Novotni, Boris Rogelj, Vladimira Vuletic, Rajka M. Liscic, Jason R. Cannon, Emanuele Buratti, Letizia Mazzini, Silva Hecimovic
Summary: There is an overlap in immune therapeutic targets between adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases and juvenile-onset Niemann-Pick type C disease, suggesting common pathogenic mechanisms. The review compares these diseases from a clinical perspective and highlights shared pathways and mechanisms of protein aggregation, neurodegeneration, and/or neuroinflammation. This could potentially lead to shared treatment strategies for immune dysfunctions in these diseases.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jieun Choo, Gwangbeom Heo, Charalabos Pothoulakis, Eunok Im
Summary: Posttranslational modifications regulate biological processes and play crucial roles in intestinal diseases research, serving as potential novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Hong Wang, Jingqing Zhang, Zhigang Lu, Weina Dai, Chuanjiang Ma, Yun Xiang, Yonghong Zhang
Summary: This study developed useful drug repurposing tools based on data-driven modeling and network pharmacology. Hub proteins important in the onset and development of COVID-19 were identified as potential targets for repurposing approved drugs. The study also predicted the therapeutic effects of bioactive herbal ingredients and chemicals using network distance metrics in the protein-protein interaction network. The method proves to be advantageous in feasibility analysis of drug repurposing or drug screening during pandemic outbreaks.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)