Cholinesterases—Structure, Mechanism, Function and Drug Discovery
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 April 2026 | Viewed by 172
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cholinesterase enzymes (AChE and BChE) are critical regulators of neurotransmission, and their significance extends far beyond their classical role in treating Alzheimer's disease and myasthenia gravis. They are now understood to perform expansive non-classical functions, including modulating stress responses and inflammation, with BChE acting as a primary bio-scavenger against neurotoxins.
Advances in understanding their structure and ligand–protein interactions have propelled drug design toward sophisticated strategies, such as multi-target-directed ligands and allosteric modulators. Concurrent breakthroughs in structural biology, computational modeling, and affinity selection assays continue to reveal complex enzymatic mechanisms, enabling a new era of rational drug design and natural product discovery.
This Special Issue aims to capture the cutting edge of this evolution, highlighting the enzyme's profound pharmacological, toxicological, and diagnostic relevance. By exploring cholinesterases through original research, reviews, and perspectives, we seek to highlight how understanding these fundamental biological sentinels drives innovation across medicine, technology, and global security.
Dr. Carmen L. Cardoso
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- cholinesterases
- cholinesterase inhibitors
- structure-based design of inhibitors
- multi-target ligands
- non-cholinergic functions
- structure
- allosteric sites
- mechanism
- non-classical functions
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