In‐silico high throughput whole transcriptome screening implicates cardiovascular disease and the immune system in the mechanism of action underlying adverse effects of atypical antipsychotics

Background: Brexpiprazole and cariprazine are the latest US Food and Drug Administration approved atypical antipsychotics available in the United States. Both function as partial agonists of the dopamine-2 receptor (D2R), a mechanism of action shared with aripiprazole. However, all three differ in their affinities for the D2R as well as for serotonin receptors (5-HTRs). This paper seeks to delineate these pharmacodynamic and clinical differences amongst the three dopamine partial agonist atypical antipsychotic drugs. Methods: PubMed and clinicaltrials.gov searches were used to generate preclinical and clinical evidence for review. Data derived from animal models and human subjects were used to provide insight on clinical mechanisms and adverse effect potentials. Clinical trial data were reviewed to compare clinical efficacy and adverse effects. Results: Efficacies among the three drugs are comparable for their shared indications. Side-effect profile and underlying pharmacodynamic mechanism of action for each drug may differ. Conclusion: Partial agonism of the D2R is a similarity of the three drugs reviewed. Each drug varies in affinity for both the D2R and a diverse group of 5-HTRs, generating a distinct profile of clinical indications and adverse effects for each.

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In silico drug designing for COVID-19: an approach of high-throughput virtual screening, molecular, and essential dynamics simulations

Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics ◽

10.1080/07391102.2021.1897681 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Rakesh Kumar ◽

Rahul Kumar ◽

Pranay Tanwar

Keyword(s):

Virtual Screening ◽

High Throughput ◽

In Silico ◽

Essential Dynamics ◽

Drug Designing ◽

Dynamics Simulations ◽

High Throughput Virtual Screening

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Investigating Molecular Mechanisms of Immunotoxicity and the Utility of ToxCast for Immunotoxicity Screening of Chemicals Added to Food

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18073332 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 3332

Author(s):

Olga V. Naidenko ◽

David Q. Andrews ◽

Alexis M. Temkin ◽

Tasha Stoiber ◽

Uloma Igara Uche ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

High Throughput ◽

Environmental Protection Agency ◽

High Throughput Screening ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Specific Activity ◽

Laboratory Animals ◽

In Vitro Assays ◽

Toxicological Studies

The development of high-throughput screening methodologies may decrease the need for laboratory animals for toxicity testing. Here, we investigate the potential of assessing immunotoxicity with high-throughput screening data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ToxCast program. As case studies, we analyzed the most common chemicals added to food as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) shown to migrate to food from packaging materials or processing equipment. The antioxidant preservative tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) showed activity both in ToxCast assays and in classical immunological assays, suggesting that it may affect the immune response in people. From the PFAS group, we identified eight substances that can migrate from food contact materials and have ToxCast data. In epidemiological and toxicological studies, PFAS suppress the immune system and decrease the response to vaccination. However, most PFAS show weak or no activity in immune-related ToxCast assays. This lack of concordance between toxicological and high-throughput data for common PFAS indicates the current limitations of in vitro screening for analyzing immunotoxicity. High-throughput in vitro assays show promise for providing mechanistic data relevant for immune risk assessment. In contrast, the lack of immune-specific activity in the existing high-throughput assays cannot validate the safety of a chemical for the immune system.

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Targeting the Cholesterol Paradigm in the Risk Reduction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: Does the Mechanism of Action of Pharmacotherapy Matter for Clinical Outcomes?

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics ◽

10.1177/10742484211023632 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107424842110236

Author(s):

Ruihai Zhou ◽

George A. Stouffer ◽

Sidney C. Smith

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Mechanism Of Action ◽

Density Lipoprotein ◽

Lipoprotein Cholesterol ◽

Blood Cholesterol ◽

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Pcsk9 Inhibitors ◽

Cholesterol Lowering ◽

Cholesterol Levels

Hypercholesterolemia is a well-established risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been labeled as “bad” cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) as “good” cholesterol. The prevailing hypothesis is that lowering blood cholesterol levels, especially LDL-C, reduces vascular deposition and retention of cholesterol or apolipoprotein B (apoB)-containing lipoproteins which are atherogenic. We review herein the clinical trial data on different pharmacological approaches to lowering blood cholesterol and propose that the mechanism of action of cholesterol lowering, as well as the amplitude of cholesterol reduction, are critically important in leading to improved clinical outcomes in ASCVD. The effects of bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, niacin, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors, apolipoprotein A-I and HDL mimetics, apoB regulators, acyl coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) inhibitors, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, statins, and proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, among other strategies are reviewed. Clinical evidence supports that different classes of cholesterol lowering or lipoprotein regulating approaches yielded variable effects on ASCVD outcomes, especially in cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Statins are the most widely used cholesterol lowering agents and have the best proven cardiovascular event and survival benefits. Manipulating cholesterol levels by specific targeting of apoproteins or lipoproteins has not yielded clinical benefit. Understanding why lowering LDL-C by different approaches varies in clinical outcomes of ASCVD, especially in survival benefit, may shed further light on our evolving understanding of how cholesterol and its carrier lipoproteins are involved in ASCVD and aid in developing effective pharmacological strategies to improve the clinical outcomes of ASCVD.

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A novel compound active against SARS-CoV-2 targeting Uridylate-specific endoribonuclease (NendoU/NSP15): In silico and in vitro investigations

RSC Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.1039/d1md00202c ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sumit Kumar ◽

Yash Gupta ◽

Samantha Zak ◽

Charu Upadhyay ◽

Neha Sharma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Screening ◽

High Throughput ◽

In Silico ◽

Specific Enzyme ◽

Cyclic Phosphates ◽

High Throughput Virtual Screening

NendoU (NSP15) is an Mn(2+)-dependent, uridylate-specific enzyme, which leaves 2'-3'-cyclic phosphates 5' to the cleaved bond. Our in-house library was subjected to high throughput virtual screening (HTVS) to identify compounds...

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