What makes a good anti-inflammatory drug target?
This review focuses on the major, 'successful' target families in inflammation and attempts to identify some of the key features of what makes a good anti-inflammatory target. The review is based on a systematic analysis of approved anti-inflammatory drugs grouped according to their drug-target family. The cytokine family is a drug-dense area. They have yielded and continue to yield a rich stream of drugs. As in other therapeutic areas, G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven-transmembrane pass receptors, have provided significant drug targets. In addition, the superfamilies of cell adhesion molecules and co-stimulatory molecules, which have special relevance to immune processes, have begun to provide the first approved drugs and might yield many more. The recent, rapid increase in the number of defined targets in the immune system -- leukocyte surface antigens, cytokines, GPCRs, adhesion molecules and co-stimulatory molecules -- will ensure a rich stream of future anti-inflammatory drug targets.
Simmons
David L
DL
Inflammation Discovery Research, Wyeth Research, 200 Cambridge Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA. dsimmons@wyeth.com
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000502:physiology; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000502:physiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007378:Interleukins / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016207:Cytokines; D007378:Interleukins; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled