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Pharmaceuticals
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Targeting Autophagy as a Strategy for Developing New Drugs
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Targeting Autophagy as a Strategy for Developing New Drugs

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 5441

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vincent Kam Wai Wong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Neher’s Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China
Interests: autophagy; rheumatoid arthritis; tumors; immunity; COVID-19; anti-aging; inflammatory disease; natural products
Dr. Xiaolei Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Vascular Surgery Department, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
Interests: atherosclerosis; neointima; autophagy; vascular calcification; vascular progenitor cell; targeted-drug development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Autophagy is an essential lysosomal degradation pathway that is critical for survival, differentiation, development, balanced homeostasis, and the regulation of various diseases. Exploring the involvement of autophagy in the development and implication of different diseases, such as infection, cancer, neurodegeneration, aging, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart disease, are essential for a more complete understanding on its functional role in regulating the pathogenesis and implications of different diseases. This Research Topic aims to unravel the process of autophagy, explore its novel signaling pathways and regulatory mechanisms, and gain insight into the cellular biology and functions of autophagy in the human body and health, which will help to develop new drugs and methods to combat autophagy-related diseases.  We welcome Original Research and Reviews on new drugs and strategy targeting autophagy for disease modulation.

Topics of interest include (but not limited to):

  • Autophagic processes, drug targeting, and design;
  • Pathogenic link between autophagy and various aspects of human health and disease, including cancer, neurodegeneration, aging, diabetes, myopathy, and heart disease;
  • Improving the current strategy in designing new drugs targeting different diseases;
  • Application of natural autophagic products in different diseases;
  • Identification of bioactive compounds from natural sources;
  • Improving the current strategy in drug delivery to target different organs.

Dr. Vincent Kam Wai Wong
Dr. Xiaolei Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5906 KiB  
Article
Licochalcone B, a Natural Autophagic Agent for Alleviating Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death in Neuronal Cells and Caenorhabditis elegans Models
by Liqun Qu, Jianhui Wu, Yong Tang, Xiaoyun Yun, Hang Hong Lo, Lu Yu, Wenhua Li, Anguo Wu and Betty Yuen Kwan Law
Pharmaceuticals 2022, 15(9), 1052; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15091052 - 25 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2567
Abstract
Autophagy has been implicated in the regulation of neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disorders. Licochalcone B (LCB), a chalcone from Glycyrrhiza inflata, has been reported to have anti-cancer, anti-oxidation and anti-β–amyloid fibrillation effects; however, its effect in autophagy remain un-investigated. In the current study, [...] Read more.
Autophagy has been implicated in the regulation of neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disorders. Licochalcone B (LCB), a chalcone from Glycyrrhiza inflata, has been reported to have anti-cancer, anti-oxidation and anti-β–amyloid fibrillation effects; however, its effect in autophagy remain un-investigated. In the current study, the potential neuro-protective role of LCB in terms of its anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic, and autophagic properties upon oxidative stress-induced damage in neuronal cells was investigated. With the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a hallmark of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was adopted to stimulate ROS-induced cell apoptosis in PC-12 cells. Our findings revealed that LCB reduced cell cytotoxicity and apoptosis of PC-12 cells upon H2O2-stimulation. Furthermore, LCB increased the level of the apoptosis-associated proteins caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 in H2O2-induced cells. LCB effectively attenuated the level of oxidative stress markers such as MDA, SOD, and ROS in H2O2-induced cells. Most importantly, LCB was confirmed to possess its anti-apoptotic effects in H2O2-induced cells through the induction of ATG7-dependent autophagy and the SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway. As a novel autophagic inducer, LCB increased the level of autophagy-related proteins LC3–II and decreased p62 in both neuronal cells and Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) models. These results suggested that LCB has potential neuroprotective effects on oxidative damage models via multiple protective pharmacological mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Autophagy as a Strategy for Developing New Drugs)
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Review

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20 pages, 2150 KiB  
Review
Pharmacological Activities of Ginkgolic Acids in Relation to Autophagy
by Yuan Ding, Zheheng Ding, Jin Xu, Yueying Li and Min Chen
Pharmaceuticals 2022, 15(12), 1469; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15121469 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2296
Abstract
Plant-derived natural compounds are widely used as alternative medicine in healthcare throughout the world. Ginkgolic acids, the phenolic compounds isolated from the leaves and seeds of Ginkgo biloba, are among the chemicals that have been explored the most. Ginkgolic acids exhibit cytotoxic [...] Read more.
Plant-derived natural compounds are widely used as alternative medicine in healthcare throughout the world. Ginkgolic acids, the phenolic compounds isolated from the leaves and seeds of Ginkgo biloba, are among the chemicals that have been explored the most. Ginkgolic acids exhibit cytotoxic activity against a vast number of human cancers in various preclinical models in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, the pharmacological activities of ginkgolic acids are also involved in antidiabetic, anti-bacteria, anti-virus, anti-fibrosis, and reno/neuroprotection. Autophagy as a highly conserved self-cleaning process that plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular and tissue homeostasis and has been proven to serve as a protective mechanism in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. In this review, we surveyed the pharmacological activities of the major three forms of ginkgolic acids (C13:0, C15:1, and C17:1) that are linked to autophagic activity and the mechanisms to which these compounds may participate. A growing body of studies in last decade suggests that ginkgolic acids may represent promising chemical compounds in future drug development and an alternative remedy in humans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Autophagy as a Strategy for Developing New Drugs)
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