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Novel drug development opportunities for heparin
1Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology, GKT School of Biomedical Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK. rebecca.lever@kcl.ac.uk
Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery
|July 18, 2002
Summary
Heparin, a complex glycosaminoglycan, has long been used as an anticoagulant. New research reveals specific structural requirements for heparin
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- Heparin is a glycosaminoglycan utilized clinically for over 50 years as an anticoagulant.
- A specific sequence within heparin is responsible for its anticoagulant properties.
- Heparin exhibits diverse biological activities beyond anticoagulation due to its complex structure.
Approach:
- Investigating the specific structural requirements for heparin's diverse biological actions.
- Utilizing a deeper understanding of heparin's structure-activity relationships.
- Developing methods for creating tailored heparin sequences.
Key Points:
- Heparin's complex structure allows for multiple therapeutic activities.
- Understanding specific structural requirements enables targeted drug design.
- Tailor-made heparin sequences can isolate desired therapeutic effects.
Conclusions:
- Heparin's complex structure allows for the isolation of specific therapeutic activities.
- Tailor-made heparin sequences hold promise for novel treatments.
- Potential applications include cancer and inflammatory diseases.