Drug Targets
The term biological target is frequently used in pharmaceutical research to describe the native protein in the body whose activity is modified by a drug resulting in a desirable therapeutic effect. In this context, the biological target is often referred to as a drug target. The most common drug targets of currently marketed drugs include:
- proteins
- G protein-coupled receptors (target of 50% of drugs)
- enzymes (especially protein kinases, proteases, esterases, and phosphatases)
- ion channels
- ligand-gated ion channels
- voltage-gated ion channels
- nuclear hormone receptors
- structural proteins such as tubulin
- membrane transport proteins
- nucleic acids
Read more about this topic: Biological Target
Famous quotes containing the word drug:
“Hed been numb a long time, years. All his nights down Ninsei, his nights with Linda, numb in bed and numb at the cold sweating center of every drug deal. But now hed found this warm thing, this chip of murder. Meat, some part of him said. Its the meat talking, ignore it.”
—William Gibson (b. 1948)