Target identification articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  12 October 2015 | Open Access

  FR171456 is a specific inhibitor of mammalian NSDHL and yeast Erg26p

  FR171456 is a bioactive chemical produced by some microorganisms. Here, the authors identify the enzyme NSDHL of the sterol synthesis pathway as the molecular target of FR171456, rendering it the first compound to specifically target this class of enzyme in yeast and mammalian cells.

  • Stephen B. Helliwell
  • , Shantanu Karkare
  •  & Christian N. Parker

• Article
  09 July 2015 | Open Access

  Lansoprazole is an antituberculous prodrug targeting cytochrome bc₁

  Tuberculosis control is threatened by the continued emergence of drug-resistant strains. Here, Rybniker et al. screen a library of FDA-approved drugs and identify a gastric proton pump inhibitor that also has antituberculosis activity and targets the bacterial cytochrome bc1complex.

  • Jan Rybniker
  • , Anthony Vocat
  •  & Stewart T. Cole

• Article | 24 October 2013

  Model-based identification of drug targets that revert disrupted metabolism and its application to ageing

  Systems biology is considered a promising tool for the identification of new drug targets. Here Yizhak and colleagues present an algorithm to analyse gene expression data and identify potential drug targets that would shift cellular metabolism from a given disease state to that of a healthier state.

  • Keren Yizhak
  • , Orshay Gabay
  •  & Eytan Ruppin

• Article
  11 July 2013 | Open Access

  Genome evolution predicts genetic interactions in protein complexes and reveals cancer drug targets

  Genetic interactions can reveal insights into cellular functions. Here, Lu et al.show that negative genetic interactions in protein complexes can be predicted by systematically exploring the evolutionary history of genes, which may be useful for the identification of novel targets for anti-cancer drugs.

  • Xiaowen Lu
  • , Philip R. Kensche
  •  & Richard A. Notebaart

• Article
  05 June 2013 | Open Access

  Hypothalamic proteoglycan syndecan-3 is a novel cocaine addiction resilience factor

  The lateral hypothalamus is implicated in drug reward and addiction. Chen and colleagues find that in the lateral hypothalamus of mice, the proteoglycan syndecan-3 negatively regulates cocaine-seeking behaviour by modulating the effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor.

  • Jihuan Chen
  • , Vez Repunte-Canonigo
  •  & Pietro Paolo Sanna

• Article | 04 December 2012

  Cardioprotection by Klotho through downregulation of TRPC6 channels in the mouse heart

  Mice that cannot produce the hormone Klotho show various aging-related phenotypes. Here, Xie and colleagues reveal that Klotho protects the heart of mice from stress-induced remodelling by inhibiting exocytosis of the TRPC6 ion channel in cardiomyocytes.

  • Jian Xie
  • , Seung-Kuy Cha
  •  & Chou-Long Huang

• Article | 13 November 2012

  The metastasis-promoting S100A4 protein confers neuroprotection in brain injury

  Multifunctional S100 proteins are upregulated in brain injury, but their role in neurodegeneration is not clear. Dmytriyeva and colleagues study in vivomodels of brain trauma and find that the S100A4 protein and its peptide mimetics protect neurons via the interleukin-10 receptor and the Janus kinase (JAK)/STAT pathway.

  • Oksana Dmytriyeva
  • , Stanislava Pankratova
  •  & Darya Kiryushko

• Article | 28 August 2012

  Identification of the functional binding pocket for compounds targeting small-conductance Ca²⁺-activated potassium channels

  Small- and intermediate-conductance K⁺channels are activated by calcium-bound calmodulin and modulated by small molecules. In this study, a functional binding pocket for the 1-EBIO class of modulators is described and is located at the calmodulin-channel interface.

  • Miao Zhang
  • , John M. Pascal
  •  & Ji-Fang Zhang

• Article
  24 April 2012 | Open Access

  Distinct Nav1.7-dependent pain sensations require different sets of sensory and sympathetic neurons

  Sodium channel Nav1.7 is essential for acute human pain but its role in chronic neuropathic pain is unclear. Minett and colleagues show that Nav1.7 expression specifically in sympathetic neurons, rather than sensory neurons, is required for the development of chronic neuropathic pain after injury.

  • Michael S. Minett
  • , Mohammed A. Nassar
  •  & John N. Wood

• Article
  10 April 2012 | Open Access

  CYLD negatively regulates transforming growth factor-β-signalling via deubiquitinating Akt

  Lung injury initiates a series of wound-healing responses, which if unregulated, can lead to fibrosis. Liet al. show that the deubquitinase CYLD has a key role in the prevention of fibrosis by inhibiting transforming growth factor β-signalling through the direct deubiquitination of the protein kinase Akt.

  • Jae Hyang Lim
  • , Hirofumi Jono
  •  & Jian-Dong Li