Virtual Screening-Based Drug Development for the Treatment of Nervous System Diseases

The incidence rate of nervous system diseases has increased in recent years. Nerve injury or neurodegenerative diseases usually cause neuronal loss and neuronal circuit damage, which seriously affect motor nerve and autonomic nervous function. Therefore, safe and effective treatment is needed. As traditional drug research becomes slower and more expensive, it is vital to enlist the help of cutting- edge technology. Virtual screening (VS) is an attractive option for the identification and development of promising new compounds with high efficiency and low cost. With the assistance of computer- aided drug design (CADD), VS is becoming more and more popular in new drug development and research. In recent years, it has become a reality to transform non-neuronal cells into functional neurons through small molecular compounds, which provides a broader application prospect than transcription factor-mediated neuronal reprogramming. This review mainly summarizes related theory and technology of VS and the drug research and development using VS technology in nervous system diseases in recent years, and focuses more on the potential application of VS technology in neuronal reprogramming, thus facilitating new drug design for both prevention and treatment of nervous system diseases.