{"title":"Balancing immune activation with Itk.","authors":"Zenia Kaul, Pamela L Schwartzberg","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Development of protective immune responses relies on a balance between proinflammatory CD4 T helper (Th) cell populations such as Th17 cells and regulatory CD4 T cells (Tregs) that keep immune activation in check. Evidence that interleukin-2-inducible T cell kinase (Itk) regulates this balance supports therapeutic applications for Itk inhibition.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"958-960"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11560531/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142366579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chemical proteomic mapping of reversible small molecule binding sites in native systems.","authors":"Jacob M Wozniak, Weichao Li, Christopher G Parker","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The impact of small molecules in human biology are manifold; not only are they critical regulators of physiological processes, but they also serve as probes to investigate biological pathways and leads for therapeutic development. Identifying the protein targets of small molecules, and where they bind, is critical to understanding their functional consequences and potential for pharmacological use. Over the past two decades, chemical proteomics has emerged as a go-to strategy for the comprehensive mapping of small molecule-protein interactions. Recent advancements in this field, particularly innovations of photoaffinity labeling (PAL)-based methods, have enabled the robust identification of small molecule binding sites on protein targets, often in live cells. In this opinion article, we examine these advancements as well as reflect on how their strategic integration with other emerging tools can advance therapeutic development.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"969-981"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142475598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dominique Debanne, Konstantina Mylonaki, Maria Laura Musella, Michaël Russier
{"title":"Voltage-gated ion channels in epilepsies: circuit dysfunctions and treatments.","authors":"Dominique Debanne, Konstantina Mylonaki, Maria Laura Musella, Michaël Russier","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epileptic encephalopathies are generally considered to be functional disruptions in the balance between neural excitation and inhibition. Excitatory and inhibitory voltage-gated ion channels are key targets of antiepileptic drugs, playing a critical role in regulating neuronal excitation and synaptic transmission. Recent research has highlighted the significance of ion channels in various aspects of epilepsy, including presynaptic neurotransmitter release, intrinsic neuronal excitability, and neural synchrony. Genetic alterations in excitatory and inhibitory ion channels within principal neurons and in inhibitory interneurons have also been identified as key contributors to the development of epilepsies. We review these recent studies and shed light on the bidirectional relationship between epilepsy and neuronal excitability and the latest advancements in pharmacological therapeutics targeting ion channels for epilepsy treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"1018-1032"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142475603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"TAM-tastic: from resistance to resilience in cancer.","authors":"Jie Ting Low, Ping-Chih Ho, Mai Matsushita","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Overcoming resistance to immunotherapy in cancer is challenging due, in part, to tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) co-expressing T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing 3 (TIM3) and V-domain immunoglobulin suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) in tumor microenvironments (TME) with sparse T cell infiltration. In a recent article, Vanmeerbeek et al. found that blocking TIM3 or VISTA on IL-4-supported TAMs, in combination with paclitaxel (PTX), reprogrammed TAMs to attack cancer cells, highlighting a potential new therapeutic strategy.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"953-954"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142366580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advances in triterpene drug discovery.","authors":"Zoë R Goddard, Mark Searcey, Anne Osbourn","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Triterpenes are structurally complex natural products with promising therapeutic properties. Recalcitrance to chemical synthesis has hindered their use in drug development. Recent advances now make it possible to access and harness triterpene structural diversity using engineering biology approaches, enabling the discovery and optimisation of a new generation of drug leads.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"964-968"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142558868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ulas Ozkurede, Shanmugasundaram Pakkiriswami, Julia C Liu
{"title":"MICUs protect the heart by regulating mitochondrial calcium.","authors":"Ulas Ozkurede, Shanmugasundaram Pakkiriswami, Julia C Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Regulation of mitochondrial calcium uptake by the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (mtCU) complex is crucial for heart function. In a recent study, Hasan et al. demonstrated that mitochondrial calcium uptake (MICU)1 and MICU2, regulatory subunits of the complex, help maintain calcium homeostasis in cardiac mitochondria, providing potential targets for therapies aimed at improving mitochondrial function in heart disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"950-952"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11637328/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142475600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessica Roos, Georg Manolikakes, Uwe Schlomann, Anna Klinke, Francisco J Schopfer, Carola A Neumann, Thorsten J Maier
{"title":"Nitro-fatty acids: promising agents for the development of new cancer therapeutics.","authors":"Jessica Roos, Georg Manolikakes, Uwe Schlomann, Anna Klinke, Francisco J Schopfer, Carola A Neumann, Thorsten J Maier","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nitro-fatty acids (NO<sub>2</sub>-FAs) are endogenous pleiotropic lipid mediators regarded as promising drug candidates for treating inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. Over the past two decades, the anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective actions of NO<sub>2</sub>-FAs and several molecular targets have been identified. More recently, preclinical studies have demonstrated their potential as prospective cancer therapeutics with favorable safety and tumor-selective profiles. In this review, we describe the mechanisms of action, with a focus on NO<sub>2</sub>-FA antineoplastic and chemosensitizing effects. We also address the potential therapeutic applications of endogenous and structurally modified NO<sub>2</sub>-FAs species in cancer treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"1061-1080"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142569160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Raahul Sharma, Caitlin R M Oyagawa, Hamid Abbasi, Michael Dragunow, Daniel Conole
{"title":"Phenotypic approaches for CNS drugs.","authors":"Raahul Sharma, Caitlin R M Oyagawa, Hamid Abbasi, Michael Dragunow, Daniel Conole","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Central nervous system (CNS) drug development is plagued by high clinical failure rate. Phenotypic assays promote clinical translation of drugs by reducing complex brain diseases to measurable, clinically valid phenotypes. We critique recent platforms integrating patient-derived brain cells, which most accurately recapitulate CNS disease phenotypes, with higher throughput models, including immortalized cells, to balance validity and scalability. These platforms were screened with conventional commercial chemogenomic compound libraries. We explore emerging library curation strategies to improve hit rate and quality, and screening novel fragment libraries as alternatives, for more tractable drug target deconvolution. The clinically relevant models used in these platforms could harbor important, unidentified drug targets, so we review evolving agnostic target deconvolution approaches, including chemical proteomics and artificial intelligence (AI), which aid in phenotypic screening hit mechanism elucidation, thereby facilitating rational hit-to-drug optimization.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"997-1017"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142508709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Novel antagonists reveal the mechanism of PXR inhibition.","authors":"Rajamanikkam Kamaraj, Petr Pavek","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a key regulator of metabolism, but the mechanisms underlying its antagonism remain unclear. Garcia-Maldonado et al. reported potent new antagonists and their co-crystal structures, revealing molecular determinants of PXR antagonism and paving the way for developing antagonists as therapeutics and preventing undesirable PXR activation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"961-963"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142475602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cornelius Y Taabazuing, Whitney S Henry, Michael U J Oliphant, Shamara S Lawrence
{"title":"Advancing cancer research.","authors":"Cornelius Y Taabazuing, Whitney S Henry, Michael U J Oliphant, Shamara S Lawrence","doi":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23250,"journal":{"name":"Trends in pharmacological sciences","volume":" ","pages":"943-949"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142547653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}