Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and destruction of multiple small joints which may lead to systemic complications. Altered immunity pathogenic autoantibodies pre-date clinical symptom development by several years. Incompletely understood range of mechanisms trigger joint-homing, leading to clinically evident articular disease. Advances in therapeutic approaches and understanding pathogenesis have improved prognosis and likely remission. However, partial/non-response to conventional and biologic therapies witnessed in a subset of patients highlights the need for new therapeutics. It is now evident that joint disease chronicity stems from recalcitrant inflammatory synovial environment, majorly maintained by epigenetically and metabolically reprogrammed synoviocytes. Therefore, interference with effector functions of activated cell types seems a rational strategy to reinstate synovial homeostasis and complement existing anti-inflammatory interventions to mitigate chronic RA. Presenting this newer aspect of fibroblast-like synoviocytes and myeloid cells underlying the altered synovial biology in RA and its potential for identification of new druggable targets is attempted in this review. Major leads from i) molecular insights of pathogenic cell types from hypothesis free OMICS approaches; ii) hierarchy of their dysregulated signaling pathways; and iii) knowledge of druggability of molecular nodes in these pathways are highlighted. Development of such synovial biology-directed therapeutics hold promise for an enriched drug repertoire for RA.
Cancer Research Institute, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Peking University Cancer Hospital Yunnan, Kunming, 650106, China.
Background: Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), excessive vomiting in pregnancy, occurs in 0.3-10.8% of pregnancies and is associated with maternal and fetal morbidity.
Bisindole alkaloids constitute a significant class of natural compounds distinguished by their characteristic bisindole structure and renowned for their anticancer properties. Over the past six decades, researchers have isolated 425 microorganism-derived bisindole alkaloids (MDBAs). Among them, 187 MDBAs have demonstrated anticancer properties against various in vitro cancer cell lines, primarily by impeding the cell cycle, restraining cell proliferation, and inducing apoptosis and autophagy.
Background: The "loss of control" over drug consumption, present in opioid use disorder (OUD) and known as escalation of intake, is well-established in preclinical rodent models. However, little is known about how antecedent behavioral characteristics, such as valuation of hedonic reinforcers prior to drug use, may impact the trajectory of fentanyl intake over time. Moreover, it is unclear if distinct escalation phenotypes may be driven by genetic markers predictive of OUD susceptibility.
G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling is terminated by arrestin binding to a phosphorylated receptor. Binding propensity has been shown to be modulated by stabilizing the pre-activated state of arrestin through point mutations or C-tail truncation. Here, we hypothesize that pre-activated rotated states can be stabilized by small molecules, and this can promote binding to phosphorylation-deficient receptors, which underly a variety of human disorders.
Recent advancements in Parkinson's disease (PD) drug development have been significantly driven by genetic research. Importantly, drugs supported by genetic evidence are more likely to be approved. While genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are a powerful tool to nominate genomic regions associated with certain traits or diseases, pinpointing the causal biologically relevant gene is often challenging.
