Novel Target Sites for Drug Screening: A Special Reference to Cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Parkinson’s Disease

Conclusion: Alteration of signal transduction by a drug is the goal of chemogenomics, a new branch formed by combination of chemistry and genomics. The proliferation, angiogenesis and apoptosis of cancer cells are regulated by cellular signaling of transcription factors, protein kinases, transmembrane receptors, extracellular ligands and some external factors like oncogenic mutations, ubiquitin-proteasome pathway with epigenetic changes. Traditional anticancer drugs either alter DNA synthesis or control cell division while new drugs retard tumor growth or induce apoptosis. The deterioration of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra results in Parkinson’s disease with mental confusion, cognitive dysfunction and sleep disorder. Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by inflammation, autoimmunity, joint destruction, deformity and premature mortality and treated mainly by anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic drugs. This review provides a comprehensive summary of objects which may act as potential targets for many health disorders.
Source: Current Signal Transduction Therapy - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research