Zebrafish A Model For Marine Peptide Based Drug Screening

This book offers a comprehensive overview of toxicology, highlighting the significance of peptide-based toxins from marine environments. It discusses the principles of protein-carbohydrate and domain-domain interactions to increase our understanding of toxicology in zebrafish models, as well as drug interaction mechanisms and target definition in drug discovery. It also reviews the structure of marine peptides/toxins and the toxicology of peptide secreting cells and cells that respond to these enzymes, and describes the normal and abnormal toxicology of marine peptides in zebrafish models. Offering insights into the field of proteomics, particularly current practice and research models for solving its many riddles, the book also explains the analytical principles of marine protein-protein and protein-carbohydrate interaction in the context of teratogenicity in target identification in peptide- based drug discovery. Lastly, the book methodically examines the preclinical research on marine proteins/peptides.

The emergence of marine and freshwater toxins in geographical areas where they have never been reported before is a concern due to the considerable impact on (sea)food contamination, and consequently, on public health. Several groups of marine biotoxins, in particular tetrodotoxins, ciguatoxins, and palytoxins, are included among the relevant marine biotoxins that have recently emerged in several coastal areas. A similar situation has been observed in freshwater, where cyanobacterial toxins, such as microcystins, could end up in unexpected areas such as the estuaries where shellfish are cultivated. Climate change and the increased availability of nutrients have been considered as the key factors in the expansion of all of these toxins into new areas; however, this could also be due to more intense biological invasions, more sensitive analytical methods, or perhaps even an increased scientific interest in these natural contaminations. The incidences of human intoxications due to the consumption of seafood contaminated with these toxins have made their study an important task to accomplish in order to protect human health. This Special Issue has a focus on a wide variety of emerging biotoxin classes and techniques to identify and quantify them.

Natural products hold a prominent position in the current discovery and development of drugs and have diverse indications for both human and animal health. Plants, in particular, play a leading role as a source of specialized metabolites with medical effects. Other organisms, such as marine and terrestrial animals and microorganisms, produce very important drug candidate molecules. Specialized metabolites from these varied natural sources can be used directly as bioactive compounds or drug precursors. In addition, due to their broad chemical diversity, they can act as drug prototypes and/or be used as pharmacological tools for different targets. Some examples of natural metabolites that have been developed into useful medical drug are cardiotonic digoxin from Digitalis sp., antimalarial artemisinin from Artemisia annua, anti-cancer taxol from Taxus sp., or podophyllotoxin from Podophyllum peltatum, which served as a synthetic model for the anti-cancer etoposide. The study of natural products is still attracting great scientific attention and their current importance, as a valuable lead for drug discovery, is undebatable. I cordially invite authors to contribute original articles, as well as survey articles, that give the readers of Molecules **MOLECULES NEEDS TO BE ITALICIZED** updated and new perspectives on natural products in drug discovery, including but not limited to natural sources, identification and separation of bioactive phytochemicals, standardization, new biological targets, pre-clinical and clinical trials, pharmacological effects/side effects, and bioassays.

This book provides essential insights into microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, and the anti-microbial drug resistance of various human pathogens on the basis of various model organisms. The initial sections of the book introduce readers to the mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, anti-microbial drug resistance, and the dynamics of biofilm formation. Due to the emergence of various microbial resistant strains, it is especially important to understand the prognosis for microbial infections, disease progression profiles, and mechanisms of resistance to antibiotic therapy in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies. In turn, the second part of the book presents a comparative analysis of various animal models to help readers understand microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, anti-microbial drug discovery, anti-biofilm therapeutics, and treatment regimes. Given its scope, the book represents a valuable asset for microbiologists, biotechnologists, medical professionals, drug development researchers, and pharmacologists alike.

The 4th edition of this successful reference book contains an updated selection of the most frequently used assays for reliably detecting the pharmacological effects of potential drugs. Effects covered include cardiovascular, analgesic, endocrine, psychotropic, respiratory, renal and immunomodulatory activities. Each of the more than 1,000 assays comprises a detailed protocol outlining the purpose and rationale of the method, a critical assessment of the results and their pharmacological and clinical relevance. In addition, animal models of rare diseases are described. For this 4th edition, all existing chapters have been revised and completely updated. A large number of assays were added. Sections that have been specifically enlarged include - Pharmacological assays in thrombosis and haemostasis, - Antidiabetic activity (includes completely new chapters such as Biochemical Methods in Diabetology), - Anti-atherosclerotic activity. New chapters are added such as Auditory Pharmacology, Oncology Activity, Stem Cells, Omics, Personalized Medicine, etc.

This Springer Handbook provides, for the first time, a complete and consistent overview over the methods, applications, and products in the field of marine biotechnology. A large portion of the surface of the earth (ca. 70%) is covered by the oceans. More than 80% of the living organisms on the earth are found in aquatic ecosystems. The aquatic systems thus constitute a rich reservoir for various chemical materials and (bio-)chemical processes. Edited by a renowned expert with a longstanding experience, and including over 60 contributions from leading international scientists, the Springer Handbook of Marine Biotechnology is a major authoritative desk reference for everyone interested or working in the field of marine biotechnology and bioprocessing - from undergraduate and graduate students, over scientists and teachers, to professionals. Marine biotechnology is concerned with the study of biochemical materials and processes from marine sources, that play a vital role in the isolation of novel drugs, and to bring them to industrial and pharmaceutical development. Today, a multitude of bioprocess techniques is employed to isolate and produce marine natural compounds, novel biomaterials, or proteins and enzymes from marine organisms, and to bring them to applications as pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals or nutraceuticals, or for the production of bioenergy from marine sources. All these topics are addressed by the Springer Handbook of Marine Biotechnology. The book is divided into ten parts. Each part is consistently organized, so that the handbook provides a sound introduction to marine biotechnology - from historical backgrounds and the fundamentals, over the description of the methods and technology, to their applications - but it can also be used as a reference work. Key topics include: - Marine flora and fauna - Tools and methods in marine biotechnology - Marine genomics - Marine microbiology - Bioenergy and biofuels - Marine bioproducts in industrial applications - Marine bioproducts in medical and pharmaceutical applications - and many more...

Marine Drugs is glad to announce its first Special Issue book on “ion channels” related research: Under the great stewardship of the Guest Editor, Dr. Jean-Marc Sabatier, four advanced research articles and three comprehensive review papers were collected in the Special Issue “Ion Channels as Marine Drug Targets”. Join us to explore the advanced research outcomes in this field: α-Conotoxin RgIA and a potent analog, RgIA4, in treatment of pain; botulinum toxin-chitosan nanoparticles in treatment of atrial fibrillation; 27-amino acid (aa)-long δ-conotoxin TxVIA that modulates mammalian CaV3.x; first venomics study of Conus tulipa venom; review on marine toxins targeting Kv1 channels; review on synthetic approaches to zetekitoxin AB; and review on marine natural products and drug resistance in latent tuberculosis. The second edition of this Special Issue is open for submissions, we look forward to your contribution.

As a guide for pharmaceutical professionals to the issues and practices of drug discovery toxicology, this book integrates and reviews the strategy and application of tools and methods at each step of the drug discovery process. • Guides researchers as to what drug safety experiments are both practical and useful • Covers a variety of key topics – safety lead optimization, in vitro-in vivo translation, organ toxicology, ADME, animal models, biomarkers, and –omics tools • Describes what experiments are possible and useful and offers a view into the future, indicating key areas to watch for new predictive methods • Features contributions from firsthand industry experience, giving readers insight into the strategy and execution of predictive toxicology practices