Dopamine and Serotonin Receptors: Selective or Multitarget Ligands for the Treatment of Central Nervous System Diseases
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2024 | Viewed by 184
Special Issue Editors
Interests: receptor chemistry; drug discovery; biologically active ligands; structure-activity relationship studies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitter pathways play important roles in regulating several physiological functions in the central nervous system and are altered in numerous complex diseases, including psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. An efficacious strategy in the treatment of such pathologies involves the discovery and development of ligands selectively targeting dopamine or serotonin receptor subtypes, with limited side effects (“magic bullets”).
However, the multitarget or “magic shotgun” approach, combining dopamine and serotonin receptor systems, might produce improved results in the treatment of polyfactorial pathologies. Indeed, with respect to combined therapies, multitarget drugs may offer clear advantages, including reduced risk of drug interactions, more predictive pharmacokinetics, and better patient compliance.
In this Special Issue, authors are invited to submit original articles dealing with the discovery and/or development of subtype selective or multitarget ligands targeting dopamine and/or serotonin receptors potentially useful for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Review articles focused on the recent findings concerning this area of investigation will also be welcome.
Dr. Fabio Del Bello
Dr. Wilma Quaglia
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- dopamine and serotonin neurotransmission
- selective dopamine receptor ligands
- selective serotonin receptor ligands
- multitarget agents
- central nervous system pathologies
- psychiatric disorders
- neurodegenerative diseases
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
1. Title: Allosteric modulators of serotonin receptors
Prof. Marcello Leopoldo et al.
Abstract: Serotonin is a neurotransmitter regulating numerous pathophysiological processes also modulated by drugs, for example, schizophrenia, depression, migraine, and obesity. Over the years, substantial research efforts have identified several selective orthosteric ligands for almost all serotonin receptors. In recent years, there has been increased interest in developing allosteric ligands for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which bind to sites distinct from the receptor's natural ligand. Allosteric modulators are being developed as essential tools to study the related GPCRs experimentally and as prospective therapeutics without unwanted side effects. The present review focuses on the identification of allosteric ligands of serotonin receptors, their interaction with the allosteric binding site, and the possible therapeutic application. An outlook on future research in the field will be given.
