Gene-Level Pharmacological Research on Natural Products
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2024 | Viewed by 369
Special Issue Editor
Interests: inflammation; macrophage; cytokine; herbal medicine; nitric oxide; CHOP; ER stress; immunity; infection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
To this day, in addition to chemically synthesized drugs, the development of new drugs and the manufacture of health functional foods using natural products that have fewer side effects and are effective for the treatment of incurable diseases continues. Identifying the pharmacological efficacy of natural products is important because it contributes to maintaining health and improving the effectiveness of disease treatment and prevention using natural products. Additionally, natural products with proven pharmacological efficacy can be developed into health functional foods that improve quality of life and can also serve as a source of single-ingredient new drug candidates for the treatment of incurable diseases. Ultimately, the effectiveness of natural products can be said to depend on the degree of detail with which their pharmacological effects can be identified. Traditionally, the medicinal properties of natural products have been passed down orally, and sometimes, they have been compiled and passed down in the literature at the national level. With recent developments in life science, research on the pharmacological efficacy of natural products at the molecular level is increasing. In addition, research to identify the pharmacological efficacy of natural products at the genetic level is being conducted along with research to develop new treatments in various fields such as cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases. In detail, the antioxidant activity of natural products involves regulating the expression of genes related to mitochondrial dysfunction such as Bcl-2 associated X-protein, B-cell lymphoma 2, heme oxygenase 1, caspase3, caspase-9, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase, nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase, thioredoxin 2, and thioredoxin-interacting protein. The anticancer activity of natural products can be attributed to genes related to apoptosis, such as nuclear factor kappa-B, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Toll-like receptor adapter molecule 1, and myeloid differentiation primary response 88. The antiangiogenic effect of natural products is associated with the regulation of expression of genes such as vascular endothelial growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor-beta, and matrix metalloproteinase. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of natural products is related to the regulation of expression of genes related to mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling such as interleukins, chemokines, tumor necrosis factors, and nitric oxide synthases. The action of natural products to alleviate endoplasmic reticulum stress involves regulating the expression of genes such as C/EBP homologous protein and calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase. Interestingly, the nephroprotective activities of natural products are related to the regulation of expression of hyperuricemia-related genes such as urate transporter 1, glucose transporter 9, organic anion transporter 1, and organic cation transporters.
The identification of the pharmacological efficacy of natural products through such gene-level mechanism research will increase the likelihood of success in discovering therapeutic drugs using natural products and developing efficient health functional foods. In addition, by improving the accuracy of the biomedical use of natural products, the side effects of indiscriminate use of natural products will be reduced, and the confidence of users who consume these natural products will increase. In this Special Issue, we will explore the pharmacological efficacy of natural products through the identification of gene-level pathways. We expect significant participation and interest from researchers.
Prof. Dr. Wansu Park
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- natural products
- gene-level pathways
- pharmacological efficacy
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