Reverse Pharmacology Flashcards
Classical Pharmacology
1804 Friedrich Sertürner, pharmacist, isolated morphine from raw opium.
1832 Pierre-Jean Robiquet isolated codeine.
1848 Georg Merck isolated papaverine.
1898 Production of heroin (diacetylmorphine) by Bayer
1952 First synthesis of morphine
1971-73 Receptor binding studies using radioligands
1975 Enkephalins (endogenous opioids = endorphins)
1992/93 Opioid-Receptors (delta-Receptor, mü-Receptor and κ-Receptor)
1994 OPRL1 (Opioid Receptor-like 1 gene) shares ~60% sequence identity with ‘classical’ opioid receptors.
1995 Orphanin FQ (Nociceptin)
→The discovery of Nociceptin is the first example of reverse pharmacology!
Classical approach
Functional activity
-> Ligand purification
Ligand/Receptor
-> Functional studies
Biological role/Pathophysiology
-> target disease
Compound screening
-> medicinal chemistry
Drug candidate
-> molecular targeting
molecular mechanism genomic research
Reverse pharmacology
bioinformatics/molecular genetics
-> full length cloning
receptor
-> ligand fishing
ligand
-> receptor/ligand
1st compound screening
-> HTS
lead compound
-> functional studies
functional activity, biological role/pathophysiology
-> target disease
2nd compound screening
-> medicinal chemistry
drug candidate
Forward pharmacology approach
Functional activity in vivo or in vitro (e.g. of extracts or natural products)
-> Lead compounds
-> Target identification
Reverse pharmacology approach
Identification of promising target proteins
-> Screening for compounds interacting with the target protein
-> Functional activity in vivo
Short History of GPCR-Deorphanization
1986 G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) share sequence similarities; orphan GPCRs can be found by homology srceening
1987 Report of the first reported orphan GPCR: G-21
1988 The first deorphanizations: G-21 as the 5-HT1A receptor
and RGB-2 as the dopamine D2 receptor
1989 Introduction of the PCR-based screening approach for the discovery of orphan GPCRs
1995 First novel transmitter as target of an orphan GPCR identified: orphanin FQ/nociceptin
1995 Various deorphanized GPCRs
The human genome as a source of new drugs?
The human genome sequence
➢ How big is the human genome?
➢ How many genes are there?
➢ How can potential candidates be identified?
New G-protein coupled receptors and ligands
➢ The orexin system
The decoding of the human genome
1990 Start of the Human Genome Project (HGP)
1998 Start of genome sequencing by US company Celera Genomics
2001 First publication of the human genome sequence
2004 Completion of the sequencing of the human genome (euchromatic fraction of the genome)
Genomic DNA -> hnRNA -> mRNA (ESTs, cDNA clones) -> proteins
The human genome
- 3.000.000 nucleotides
- 20.000 - 25.000 protein-coding genes
Genes encode different types of proteins
Structural proteins -> Collagen: skin, bones, teeth Elastin: bands, vascular walls
Transport proteins -> Hemoglobin: transports oxygen in the blood
Storage proteins -> Ferritin: stores iron in the liver
Filament proteins -> Myosin: forms muscles
Antibody proteins -> Immunoglobulins: recognize and bind foreign substances
Receptor proteins -> Rhodopsin: transmits light signals in the eye
Enzymes -> DNA polymerase: synthesizes DNA
Signaling proteins -> Tumor necrosis factor: signal to inactivate tumor cells
Membrane proteines -> Permeases: funneling particles across cell membranes
Targets for Drug Action (Drug Receptors)
A drug is a chemical applied to a physiological system that affects its function by binding specifically (chemically) to a receptor.
Four main kinds of regulatory proteins are commonly involved as primary drug targets, namely:
* Physiological receptors
* Ion channels
* Enzymes
* Carrier molecules (neurotransmitter/electrolyte transporters)
Percentage of biochemical structures used in therapies
GPCRs comprise the single largest group! -> Most drugs target GPCRs! (> 30 % of all pharmaceutical drugs approved by the FDA)
G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs)
Galphas -> stimulates adenylate cyclase, modulates Ca2+ and Na+ channels.
Galphai -> inhibits the adenylate cyclase, activates cGMP phosphodiesterase, opens K+ channels, closes Ca2+ channels.
Galphaq/11 -> activates phospholipase C.
Galpha12/13 -> stimulates cell growth via Rho-GTPases.
Identifying new GPCRs
Molecular biological methods to identify nucleotide sequence homologies
▪ Hybridization at low stringency (“colony screening” cDNA libraries)
▪ Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from cDNA or genomic DNA with degenerate primers
In silico analyses („database mining“)
▪ Comparison of amino acid or nucleotide sequences with databases (GenBank ect.)
▪ Identification of specific structural features using special algorithms (TMHMM)
Identification of specific structural features using special algorithms
- TMHMM Server v. 2.0
Predicting transmembrane protein topology with a hidden Markov model: Application to complete genomes - Input in FASTA format
- Output