Recent Strategic Advances in CFTR Drug Discovery: An Overview

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-rescuing drugs have already transformed cystic fibrosis (CF) from a fatal disease to a treatable chronic condition. However, new-generation drugs able to bind CFTR with higher specificity/affinity and to exert stronger therapeutic benefits a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marco Rusnati, Pasqualina D’Ursi, Nicoletta Pedemonte, Chiara Urbinati, Robert C. Ford, Elena Cichero, Matteo Uggeri, Alessandro Orro, Paola Fossa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/7/2407
Description
Summary:Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-rescuing drugs have already transformed cystic fibrosis (CF) from a fatal disease to a treatable chronic condition. However, new-generation drugs able to bind CFTR with higher specificity/affinity and to exert stronger therapeutic benefits and fewer side effects are still awaited. Computational methods and biosensors have become indispensable tools in the process of drug discovery for many important human pathologies. Instead, they have been used only piecemeal in CF so far, calling for their appropriate integration with well-tried CF biochemical and cell-based models to speed up the discovery of new CFTR-rescuing drugs. This review will give an overview of the available structures and computational models of CFTR and of the biosensors, biochemical and cell-based assays already used in CF-oriented studies. It will also give the reader some insights about how to integrate these tools as to improve the efficiency of the drug discovery process targeted to CFTR.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067