About this Research Topic
Molecular targets on or within cells, such as gene, protein, enzyme and signalling molecules actively participated in disease progressions, are of great importance for drug design and delivery, especially in cancers. Targeting specific molecules in physiological processes can create precise drug treatments with high efficacy and low toxicity. Meanwhile, more and more applications of molecular-targeted ligands in drug delivery system have realized active targeting and therefore enhance drug accumulations in disease regions, owing to the specific interaction between ligands and its molecular targets. This thematic issue presents recent advances in the field of molecular targeting, including the newly discovered molecular targets in tumor, drug design based on molecular targets, molecular targets for nanomedicine and drug delivery system as well as molecular-targeted therapeutic strategies. These topics not only provide an update for novel molecular targets and its applications for drug discovery and delivery, but also bring novel ideas for the targeted treatment of cancers.
In recent decades, clinical drug treatments have switched from cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens towards molecular-targeted therapies. An increasing number of investigators have recognized that molecular targets are key disease regulators with distinct expressions, mutations and functions in cells at disease sites, and molecular-targeted drugs have notably improved the therapeutical efficiency due to their specificity and safety. Molecular-targeted drugs account for the majority of current pharmaceutical market, while probing novel molecular targets, related ligands and functions can further facilitate drug discovery in anti-tumor field. Furthermore, molecular-targeted nanoparticles possess the capacity of active targeting to desirable sites, which are the most principal strategies in the nanomedicine field for enhancing drug targeting efficacy. Thus, the discovery and understanding of molecular targets can also be beneficial for constructing highly efficient nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. There is an urgent need to provide an update summary of molecular targets which can assist us to explore novel strategies for designing molecular-targeted drugs and drug delivery systems.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• The newly discovered molecular targets in tumor
• Recent advances in drug design based on molecular targets
• Biomaterials and nanofabrication in molecular targeting
• Molecular-targeted therapeutic strategies (eg. targeting GPCRs, PD-1, RTKs, signalling molecules)
Topic Editor Jianxun Ding received financial support from Changchun Sinobiomaterials Co., Ltd. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
In recent decades, clinical drug treatments have switched from cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens towards molecular-targeted therapies. An increasing number of investigators have recognized that molecular targets are key disease regulators with distinct expressions, mutations and functions in cells at disease sites, and molecular-targeted drugs have notably improved the therapeutical efficiency due to their specificity and safety. Molecular-targeted drugs account for the majority of current pharmaceutical market, while probing novel molecular targets, related ligands and functions can further facilitate drug discovery in anti-tumor field. Furthermore, molecular-targeted nanoparticles possess the capacity of active targeting to desirable sites, which are the most principal strategies in the nanomedicine field for enhancing drug targeting efficacy. Thus, the discovery and understanding of molecular targets can also be beneficial for constructing highly efficient nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. There is an urgent need to provide an update summary of molecular targets which can assist us to explore novel strategies for designing molecular-targeted drugs and drug delivery systems.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• The newly discovered molecular targets in tumor
• Recent advances in drug design based on molecular targets
• Biomaterials and nanofabrication in molecular targeting
• Molecular-targeted therapeutic strategies (eg. targeting GPCRs, PD-1, RTKs, signalling molecules)
Topic Editor Jianxun Ding received financial support from Changchun Sinobiomaterials Co., Ltd. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Keywords: Molecular targets, Signalling molecules, Drug design, Drug delivery, Nanomaterials, Tumor
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