Computational Drug Networks: a computational approach to elucidate drug mode of action and to facilitate drug repositioning for neurodegenerative diseases

Publication date: Available online 18 May 2017 Source:Drug Discovery Today: Disease Models Author(s): Francesco Sirci, Francesco Napolitano, Diego di Bernardo While computational approaches based on chemical structures have been extensively used in drug discovery, drug induced transcriptional responses provide a complementary view of their effects. Network visualizations facilitate the exploration of the chemical space in a comprehensive, integrated view. Systematic approaches can be particularly useful for repositioning drugs acting on the CNS, where polypharmacology, targets promiscuity and pharmacokinetic properties must be finely tuned. Here we present a review of the most recently developed methodologies for comparative structure-based and transcriptomics analyses together with applications to the field of Drug Repositioning. We also show an application example in which we searched for drugs and perturbagens inducing cellular autophagy, a suitable strategy to improve phenotype of neurological diseases.
Source: Drug Discovery Today: Disease Models - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research