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
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