Membranes in Biophysics, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Biological Membrane Functions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 2535

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, Brazil
Interests: membrane as drug targets; membrane bioassays; drug discovery; natural products; medicinal chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Physics, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, SP, Brazil
Interests: molecular biophysics; structural biology; physical chemistry of macromolecules; protein–ligand interaction; drug discovery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The role of biological membranes in maintaining cell homeostasis and their involvement in cellular functions makes these structures potential targets for drug action. However, in order to design new and better drugs it is necessary to have a comprehensive physicochemical and biological knowledge of the processes that occur in membrane regions. This Special Issue is devoted to state-of-the-art research on topics concerning the use of membranes in biophysics, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacology, including multidisciplinary studies. This covers all aspects associated with the interactions between chemical compounds and membranes, including their lipid, protein, and carbohydrate components. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: chemistry, (micro)biology, biochemistry, chemical biology, material sciences, physics, and engineering.

Prof. Dr. Luis Regasini
Prof. Dr. Ícaro Putinhon Caruso
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. Membranes 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 2200 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.

Keywords

  • membrane
  • biophysics
  • medicinal chemistry
  • pharmacology
  • drug
  • lipid
  • protein
  • carbohydrate
  • target

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 8709 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Role of Drug Repurposing in Bridging the Hypoxia–Depression Connection
by Ana Salomé Correia, Lara Marques, Armando Cardoso and Nuno Vale
Membranes 2023, 13(9), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13090800 - 17 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1758
Abstract
High levels of oxidative stress are implicated in hypoxia, a physiological response to low levels of oxygen. Evidence supports a connection between this response and depression. Previous studies indicate that tryptophan hydroxylase can be negatively affected in hypoxia, impairing serotonin synthesis and downstream [...] Read more.
High levels of oxidative stress are implicated in hypoxia, a physiological response to low levels of oxygen. Evidence supports a connection between this response and depression. Previous studies indicate that tryptophan hydroxylase can be negatively affected in hypoxia, impairing serotonin synthesis and downstream pathways. Some studies also hypothesize that increasing hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) levels may be a new therapeutic modality for depression. Hence, this study delved into the influence of hypoxia on the cellular response to drugs designed to act in depression. By the induction of hypoxia in SH-SY5Y cells through a hypoxia incubator chamber or Cobalt Chloride treatment, the effect of Mirtazapine, an antidepressant, and other drugs that interact with serotonin receptors (TCB-2, Dextromethorphan, Ketamine, Quetiapine, Scopolamine, Celecoxib, and Lamotrigine) on SH-SY5Y cellular viability and morphology was explored. The selection of drugs was initially conducted by literature search, focusing on compounds with established potential for employment in depression therapy. Subsequently, we employed in silico approaches to forecast their ability to traverse the blood–brain barrier (BBB). This step was particularly pertinent as we aimed to assess their viability for inducing potential antidepressant effects. The effect of these drugs in hypoxia under the inhibition of HIF-1 by Echinomycin was also tested. Our results revealed that all the potential repurposed drugs promoted cell viability, especially when hypoxia was chemically induced. When combined with Echinomycin, all drugs decreased cellular viability, possibly by the inability to interact with HIF-1. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membranes in Biophysics, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology)
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