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Una volta si faceva ricorso all'oppio, oggi per trovare l'estro ci si affida al
Prozac. La notizia arriva dalla Gran Bretagna, dove The Guardian dedica
al farmaco antidepressivo un lungo articolo, che spiega come le pastiglie
di fluoxetina siano diventate un aiuto diffuso per gli artisti in cerca
appunto di creatività. Immesso sul mercato esattamente 25 anni fa, per
curare forti stati depressivi, oggi il farmaco è utilizzato da 40 milioni di
persone al mondo. Solo negli Stati Uniti è ormai nei cassetti di ben 10
milioni di cittadini, pronto all'uso (e in alcuni casi all'abuso).
Animal sources
Animals can sometimes be a source of new lead com pounds. For example, a
series of antibiotic polypeptides known as the magainins were extracted from the
skin of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis. These agents protect the frog from
infection and may provide clues to the development of novel antibacterial and
antifungal agents in human medicine. Another example is a potent anal gesic
compound called epibatidine, obtained from the skin extracts of the Ecuadorian
poison frog.
The natural ligand of a target receptor has sometimes been used as the lead
compound. The natural neurotrans mitters adrenaline and noradrenaline were the
starting points for the development of adrenergic p-agonists such as salbutamol.
dobutamine and xamoterol, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was the starting point
for the development of the 5-HT1 agonist sumatriptan. The natural ligand of a
receptor can also be used as the lead compound in the design of an antagonist. For
example, histamine was used as the original lead compound in the development of
the H2 histamine antagonist cimetidine. Turning an agonist into an antagonist is
frequently achieved by adding extra binding groups to the lead structure. Other
exam ples include the development of the adrenergic antagonist pronethalol, the
H2 antagonist burimamide, and the 5-HT3, antagonists ondansetron and
granisetron.
Sometimes the natural ligand for a receptor is not known (an orphan receptor) and
the search for it can be a major project in itself. If the search is successful, however,
it opens up a brand-new area of drug design (Box 12.5). For example, the
identification of the opioid receptors for morphine led to a search for endogenous
opioids (natural body painkillers) which eventually led to the discovery of
endorphins and enkephalins as the natural ligands, and their use as lead
compounds.
Natural ligands as lead compounds
The discovery of cannabinoid receptors in the early 1990s led to the discovery of
two endogenous cannabinoid messengers arachidonylethanolamine
(anandamide) and 2-arachidonyl glycerol. These have now been used as lead
compounds for developing agents that will interact with cannabinoid receptors. Such
agents may prove useful in suppressing nausea during chemotherapy, or in
stimulating appetite in patients with AIDS.
The natural substrate for an enzyme can be used as the lead compound in
the design of an enzyme inhibitor. For example, enkephalins have been
used as lead compounds for the design of enkephalinase inhibitors.
Enkephalinases are enzymes which metabolize enkephalins, and their
inhibition should prolong the activity of enkephalins.
The natural substrate for HIV-protease was used as the lead compound for
the development of the first protease inhibitor used to treat HIV. Other
examples of substrates being used as lead compounds for inhibitors
include the substrates for farnesyl transferase and matrix metalloproteinase