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For the past decade, the number of molecular targets for approved drugs has been debated. In this article and the accompanying poster, Overington and colleagues provide a comprehensive survey of current drug targets and a wealth of associated information on the characteristics of target families and the drugs that modulate them.
The Wnt signalling pathway has a central role in tissue development and tissue maintenance, but is frequently dysregulated in several types of cancer, particularly those of the digestive tract. Here, Barker and Clevers examine the recent progress in the development of Wnt inhibitors as anticancer drugs.
There are currently serious concerns about the control measures that should be taken if a pandemic of influenza A were to strike. De Clercq discusses the therapeutic potential of agents that have been shown to be active against influenza A viruses, and describes emerging strategies for targeting these viruses.
The hedgehog signalling pathway is abnormally activated in most basal cell carcinomas, in one-third or more medulloblastomas, and has been implicated in several other types of cancer. Rubin and de Sauvage discuss the therapeutic opportunities presented by recent insights into this pathway, and the compounds currently in development.
Recent developments in the understanding of the mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias have opened up unprecedented opportunities for drug development. Here, Nattel and Carlsson review emerging findings in the development of new types of anti-arrhythmic compounds targeting two particularly important cardiac arrhythmias: atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation.
For the past decade, the number of molecular targets for approved drugs has been debated. However, to develop and apply predictive methods to assess the future potential for therapeutic exploitation, the number, characteristics and biological diversity of these targets needs to be established. Here, we provide a comprehensive survey of current drug targets and drugs that modulate them.
