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Protein–Protein Interactions: New Perspectives in Drug Discovery

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 4520

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Tibor Szénási

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Guest Editor

Institute of Enzymology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, ELKH, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
Interests: cytoskeleton; GPCR; protein–protein interaction; Parkinson’s disease; cancer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The present Special Issue entitled “Protein–Protein Interactions: New Perspectives in Drug Discovery” aims to show new perspectives, new interactions, drug targets, and draw attention to drug development directions. All new articles describing protein–protein interactions and manuscripts defining negative protein–protein interactions as drug targets are welcome in the special section. Whether the method is a new approach or the use of small molecules, peptides, nucleotide aptamers, protein–protein interactions influencing cell division, cell proliferation, proteinopathy cancer processes or G-protein-coupled receptors and other receptor-ligand and signal transduction pathways. IJMS is a journal of molecular science, so pure clinical studies are not suitable for a journal. This Special Issue however, it welcomes submissions of clinical or pure models related to biomolecular experiments.

Dr. Tibor Szénási
Guest Editor

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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

small molecule
proteinopathy
cancer
aptamer
drug target

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4367 KiB

Open AccessArticle

BMP2–ERK–ATF4 Axis-Based 6-methoxybenzofuran Compound I-9 Acts as Candidate Drug for Bone Formation and Anti-Osteoporosis

by Ziying Zhou, Chenxi Zhao, Siyan Li, Xiaoyang Han, Jiangyi Zhu, Situ Xue and Zhuorong Li

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(6), 3350; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25063350 - 15 Mar 2024

Viewed by 567

Abstract

As the global population ages, the number of patients with osteoporosis is rapidly rising. The existing first-line clinical drugs are bone resorption inhibitors that have difficulty restoring the bone mass of elderly patients to the safe range. The range and period of use of existing peptides and monoclonal antibodies are limited, and small-molecule bone formation–promoting drugs are urgently required. We established an I-9 synthesis route with high yield, simple operation, and low cost that was suitable for future large-scale production. I-9 administration promoted bone formation and increased bone mass in mice with low bone mass in an aged C57 mouse model. Our findings revealed a hitherto undescribed pathway involving the BMP2–ERK–ATF4 axis that promotes osteoblast differentiation; I-9 has favorable biosafety in mice. This study systematically investigated the efficacy, safety, and mechanism of I-9 for treating osteoporosis and positions this drug for preclinical research in the future. Thus, this study has promoted the development of small-molecule bone-promoting drugs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein–Protein Interactions: New Perspectives in Drug Discovery)

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17 pages, 6917 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Andrographolide Alleviates Oxidative Damage and Inhibits Apoptosis Induced by IHNV Infection via CTSK/BCL2/Cytc Axis

by Qi Liu, Linfang Li, Jingzhuang Zhao, Guangming Ren, Tongyan Lu, Yizhi Shao and Liming Xu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(1), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010308 - 25 Dec 2023

Viewed by 954

Abstract

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is an important pathogen that causes significant economic losses to salmon trout farming. Although vaccines have been invented for the treatment of IHNV, findings from our previous survey show that breeding enterprises and farmers require effective oral drugs or immune enhancers. However, studies on the development of oral drugs are limited. In the present study, we used bioinformatics methods to predict the protein targets of andrographolide (Andro) in IHNV. Cells were infected with IHNV, and the effect of andrographolide was explored by evaluating the expression levels of genes implicated in oxidative stress, activities of antioxidant enzymes, and the expression of genes implicated in apoptosis and necrosis. In the present study, cells were divided into NC, IHNV, IHNV+10 μM andrographolide, and IHNV+20 μM andrographolide groups. qRT-PCR was performed to determine the expression level of genes, and an antioxidant enzyme detection kit was used to evaluate the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Fluorescent staining was performed using a reactive oxygen species detection kit (ROS) and Hoechst 33342/PI double staining kit, and the mechanism of alleviation of apoptosis and oxidative stress andrographolide after IHNV infection was determined. The results indicated that andrographolide inhibits viral growth by binding to the NV protein of IHNV and increasing the antioxidant capacity of the body through the CTSK/BCL2/Cytc axis, thereby inhibiting the occurrence of IHNV-induced apoptosis. This is the first study to explore the antagonistic mechanism of action of andrographolide in alleviating IHNV infection. The results provide valuable information on alternative strategies for the treatment of IHNV infection during salmon family and provide a reference for the use of andrographolide as an antioxidant agent in agricultural settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein–Protein Interactions: New Perspectives in Drug Discovery)

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12 pages, 1269 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In Vitro Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and Ivermectin Interaction

by Alejandra García-Aguilar, Rebeca Campi-Caballero, Giovani Visoso-Carvajal, José Rubén García-Sánchez, José Correa-Basurto, Jazmín García-Machorro and Judith Espinosa-Raya

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(22), 16392; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242216392 - 16 Nov 2023

Viewed by 2195

Abstract

The spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 is a molecular target of great interest for developing drug therapies against COVID-19 because S is responsible for the interaction of the virus with the host cell receptor. Currently, there is no outpatient safety treatment for COVID-19 disease. Furthermore, we consider it of worthy importance to evaluate experimentally the possible interaction of drugs (approved by the Food and Drug Administration) and the S, considering some previously in silico and clinical use. Then, the objective of this study was to demonstrate the in vitro interaction of ivermectin with S. The equilibrium dialysis technique with UV–Vis was performed to obtain the affinity and dissociation constants. In addition, the Drug Affinity Responsive Target Stability (DARTS) technique was used to demonstrate the in vitro interaction of S with ivermectin. The results indicate the interaction between ivermectin and the S with an association and dissociation constant of Ka = 1.22 µM⁻¹ and Kd = 0.81 µM, respectively. The interaction was demonstrated in ratios of 1:50 pmol and 1:100 pmol (S: ivermectin) by the DARTS technique. The results obtained with these two different techniques demonstrate an interaction between S and ivermectin previously explored in silico, suggesting its clinical uses to stop the viral spread among susceptible human hosts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein–Protein Interactions: New Perspectives in Drug Discovery)

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Review

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24 pages, 1694 KiB

Open AccessReview

Connective Tissue Growth Factor: Regulation, Diseases, and Drug Discovery

by Meishen Ren, Shanshan Yao, Tienan Chen, Hang Luo, Xiaohui Tao, Hewen Jiang, Xin Yang, Huarui Zhang, Sifan Yu, Yin Wang, Aiping Lu and Ge Zhang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(9), 4692; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25094692 - 25 Apr 2024

Viewed by 253

Abstract

In drug discovery, selecting targeted molecules is crucial as the target could directly affect drug efficacy and the treatment outcomes. As a member of the CCN family, CTGF (also known as CCN2) is an essential regulator in the progression of various diseases, including fibrosis, cancer, neurological disorders, and eye diseases. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms of CTGF in different diseases may contribute to the discovery of novel drug candidates. Summarizing the CTGF-targeting and -inhibitory drugs is also beneficial for the analysis of the efficacy, applications, and limitations of these drugs in different disease models. Therefore, we reviewed the CTGF structure, the regulatory mechanisms in various diseases, and drug development in order to provide more references for future drug discovery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein–Protein Interactions: New Perspectives in Drug Discovery)

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