Drug discovery and molecular mechanisms of drug action
Ferrochelatase in heme biosynthesis Ferrochelatase (FECH) is an enzyme found in mitochondria that adds iron ions (Fe2+) into protoporphyrin to produce heme (Figure 1). This biochemical reaction is critical for cell health. The process is tightly controlled so that cells produce the amount of heme needed and do not accumulate too much of the heme … Read more
Benefits of Off-Target Effects There are many FDA-approved medicines. Most have some “off-target” effects, meaning effects that are not those intended for the drug. Sometimes these off-target effects limit the dose of a drug that can be used to treat the intended disease or symptom. Sometimes these off-target effects are unwanted side effects that the … Read more
How will we benefit from being able to accurately predict the peptide antigens that the immune system can recognize? Vaccine development would be a major beneficiary of such knowledge (Figure 1). We could produce more effective and safer vaccines. We could develop vaccines for pathogens for which no vaccine is currently available. We could ensure … Read more
Target tissue type, as well as a patient’s gender, nutritional, and reproductive status, must be considered to manipulate signaling through the RANKL/RANK pathway for therapeutic benefit. In some contexts, activating this pathway can be beneficial and in others inhibiting this pathway is beneficial. RANKL is the ligand, RANK [receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)] … Read more
T cells of the adaptive immune system are not the only cytotoxic cells in the immune system. Natural killer cells (NK cells) are a cytotoxic white blood cell (lymphocyte) of the innate immune system. Clinical trials with NK cells use these as cell-based biologic therapies: The NK cells are the therapy. New research suggests that … Read more