effector

Radiotherapy is a common treatment for various cancers, and more than 50% of cancer patients require radiotherapy during the disease treatment. With advances in radiation technology and a better understanding of tumor biology, the efficacy of radiation therapy has gradually improved, and more and more patients have benefited from it. However, even with the use of advanced radiotherapy techniques, there are still many malignant tumor cells with low sensitivity to radiation, leading to the radiation effect is not ideal. To solve this problem, radiosensitizers have received more and more attention. Radiosensitizer is a kind of drug that can enhance the radiosensitivity of tumor cells and improve the effect of radiotherapy. Radiation sensitizers act in a variety of ways, such as killing hypoxic cells, enhancing DNA damage, inhibiting DNA damage repair, and blocking cell cycle progression, making tumor cells more susceptible to radiation damage and death than surrounding normal cells.

MCE designs a unique collection of 40 compounds with definite reported radiosensitization. It can be used for drug combination research in anti-cancer treatment.

Heat-clearing and detoxification is a specific treatment method in the research of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is clinically used to treat infectious diseases with remarkable effect. Over the past decades, the research of heat-clearing and detoxification treatment has been one of the most active fields of combining traditional Chinese and western medicines, and has made remarkable achievements. Nowadays, the application field of heat-clearing and detoxification traditional Chinese medicine is not only limited to antibacterial and antiviral, but also has made progress in the research fields of anti-inflammatory reaction, anti-endotoxin, anti-peroxidative damage, anti-inflammatory cytokines, enhancement of immune function, protection of cellular organelles, and maintenance of calcium homeostasis. In addition to this, clearing heat and removing toxins has also made significant research progress in non-infectious diseases, for example, in tumors, cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases, blood diseases, geriatrics, and diabetes, all of which have shown good curative effect.

MCE can supply 1,282 monomer component from more than a hundred sources of heat-clearing and detoxification TCM, which can be used in TCM studies, drug development and mechanism-based studies.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that allows a neuron's electrical signal to pass to a postsynaptic neuron or effect target. Neurotransmitters include amino acids, monoamines, and peptides, while other neurotransmitters are composed of metabolites such as nitric oxide and carbon monoxide. The function of neurotransmitters is closely related to the disease of life, helping to regulate the body's heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing, sleep, aging and muscle activity. Therefore, research based on neurotransmitters can help to increase human understanding of diseases.

MCE collects and organizes 57 neurotransmitters and is a tool library for drug screening and mechanism research.

Calcium channel blockers (CCBs), also called calcium antagonists are compounds that slow the movement of calcium (Ca2+) through calcium channels into the cells of the heart and blood vessel walls. Calcium causes the heart and arteries to squeeze more strongly. By blocking calcium, calcium channel blockers allow blood vessels to relax and open. So calcium channel blockers are usually used to lower blood pressure, relieve chest pain (angina) and control an irregular heartbeat.

MCE supplies a unique collection of 174 calcium channel blockers and antagonists, all of which have the identified inhibitory effect on calcium channel. MCE Calcium Channel Blocker Library is a useful tool for discovery of antihypertensive drugs and cardiovascular disease research.

Nuclear receptors (NR) are proteins found in cells that sense androgen and thyroid hormones and certain other molecules. They are ligand-activated transcription factors that participate in many aspects of human physiology and pathology, and regulate the expression of various important genes.

Nuclear receptors have become one of the main targets in the development of new drug strategies, providing a unique type of receptors for studying a variety of human diseases, such as breast cancers, skin disorders and diabetes. 13% of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs target nuclear receptors.

MCE supplies a unique collection of 854 nuclear receptor inhibitors and activators, all of which have the identified inhibitory or activated effect on nuclear receptor. MCE Nuclear Receptor Library is a useful tool for drugs research related to cancer, skin disease and diabetes.

Most of the drugs that are available in the marketplace are administered via the oral route, which is a convenient and cost effective route of administration. Thus, oral bioavailability is one of the key considerations in drug design and development. A high oral bioavailability reduces the amount of an administered drug necessary to achieve a desired pharmacological effect and therefore could reduce the risk of side-effects and toxicity. A poor oral bioavailability can result in low efficacy and higher inter-individual variability and therefore can lead to unpredictable response to a drug. Low oral bioavailability in clinical trials is a major reason for drug candidates failing to reach the market.

MCE offers a unique collection of 4,373 compounds with confirmed high oral bioavailability. MCE Orally Active Compound Library is a useful tool for discovering new drugs with oral bioavailability.

Antibacterial agents are a group of materials that fight against pathogenic bacteria. Thus, by killing or reducing the metabolic activity of bacteria, their pathogenic effect in the biological environments will be minimized. The most widely used antibacterial agents exert their effects on bacterial cell wall synthesis, protein synthesis, DNA replication and metabolic pathways. However, resistance to antimicrobial agents has become a major source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The main mechanisms of resistance are limiting uptake of a drug, modification of a drug target, inactivation of a drug, and active efflux of a drug. Therefore, it is an urgent need to develop new drugs targeted at resistant organisms.

MCE offers a unique collection of 1,569 compounds with validated antibacterial activities. MCE antibacterial compound library is an effective tool for drug repurposing screening, combination screening and biological investigation.

Peptidomimetics are compounds whose essential elements (pharmacophore) mimic a natural peptide or protein in 3D space and which retain the ability to interact with the biological target and produce the same biological effect. Peptidomimetics are designed to circumvent some of the problems associated with a natural peptide: e.g. stability against proteolysis (duration of activity) and poor bioavailability. Certain other properties, such as receptor selectivity or potency, often can be substantially improved. The design and synthesis of peptidomimetics are most important because of the dominant position peptide and protein-protein interactions play in molecular recognition and signaling, especially in living systems. Hence mimics have great potential in drug discovery.

MCE Peptidomimetic Library contains 372 compounds including peptoid, α-helix mimetics, β-turn/sheets mimetics, etc. This library is an indispensable tool of structure-activity relationships in drug discovery.

Targeted cancer therapies are drugs or other substances that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecular targets that are involved in the growth, progression, and spread of cancer.

There are several different types of targeted therapy. The most common types are small-molecule drugs and monoclonal antibodies. Small-molecule drugs are small enough to enter cells easily, so they are used for targets that are inside cells, while monoclonal antibodies are usually used for targets that are located outside the cells. Because of high specificity, low side effect and potent anticancer activity, targeted therapy has become the mainstream of new anti-tumor drugs. Various targeted therapies have been approved by FDA and used in the treatment of diseases.

MCE carefully collects a unique of 105 targeted therapy drugs used in cancer treatment. MCE Targeted therapy drug library is a useful tool for the research of targeted therapy.

Sodium channels conduct sodium ions (Na+) through a cell's plasma membrane that are the source of excitatory currents for the nervous system and muscle. Na channels are classified according to the trigger that opens the channel for such ions, i.e. either a voltage-change (Voltage-gated, voltage-sensitive, or voltage-dependent sodium channel also called VGSCs or Nav channel) or a binding of a substance (a ligand) to the channel (ligand-gated sodium channels). Dysfunction in voltage-gated sodium channels correlates with neurological and cardiac diseases, including epilepsy, myopathies, pain and cardiac arrhythmias. Sodium channel blockers are used in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia, pain and convulsion.

MCE offers a unique collection of 156 sodium channel blocker and antagonists, all of which have the identified inhibitory effect on sodium channels. MCE Sodium Channel Blocker Library can be used for neurological and cardiac diseases drug discovery and sodium channel research.

Immunity refers to the ability of the body to resist the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms and resist a variety of diseases. Immunocompromised will inevitably lead to a series of diseases. Immunopotentiator are a class of compounds that enhance immune function and induce immune response. Immunopotentiator can activate the proliferation and differentiation of one or more kinds of immune active cells in the body, promote the secretion of lymphocytes, and then enhance the immune function of the body. Immunopotentiator are mainly used in the treatment of tumors, infectious diseases and immunodeficiency diseases. In addition, immunopotentiator are often used as adjuvants in combination with vaccine antigens to enhance the immunogenicity of vaccines.

MCE designs a unique collection of 109 compounds with definite or potential Immunopotentiating effect, mainly targeting the NOD-like Receptor (NLR), Toll-like Receptor (TLR), NF-κB, etc. It is an effective tool for development and research of anti-cancer, anti-infectious diseases and anti-immunodeficiency diseases compounds.

Antibiotics are types of antimicrobial products used for the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections. Antibiotics can kill or inhibit bacterial growth. Although the target of an antibiotic is bacteria, some antibiotics also attack fungi and protozoans. However, antibiotics rarely have an effect on viruses. The major mechanism underlying antibiotics is the inhibition or regulation of enzymes involved in cell wall biosynthesis, nucleic acid metabolism and repair, protein synthesis, or disruption of membrane structure. Many of these cellular functions targeted by antibiotics are most active in multiplying cells. Since there is often overlap in these functions between prokaryotic bacterial cells and eukaryotic mammalian cells, it is not surprising that some antibiotics have also been found to be useful as anticancer agents.

MCE supplies a unique collection of 715 antibiotics, including penicillins, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, macrolides, etc. MCE Antibiotics Library is a useful tool for anti-bacterial or anti-cancer drugs discovery.

Tibetan medicine, as one of the treasures of traditional Chinese medicine, carries the profound cultural heritage of the Tibetan people and their unique understanding of health. Tibet is the birthplace of Tibetan medicine, and its plateau climate and unique ecological environment have nurtured its rich medicinal resources. Among them, cordyceps, saffron and snow lily are favored by people for their excellent medicinal value and unique growth characteristics. Tibetan medicine, with its profound heritage, plays a crucial role in the management of diseases that are unique to high-altitude regions, such as altitude stress. It facilitates a swifter adaptation to high-altitude conditions and mitigates the symptoms of altitude sickness by meticulously recalibrating the internal environment within the human body. For rheumatic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc., Tibetan medicine has also shown its remarkable effect.

MCE included 1,108 natural products from Tibetan medicine, including animal, plant and mineral sources.

In the research of covalent inhibitors targeting serine and threonine, scientists have found that the nucleophilicity of these hydroxyl groups is significantly enhanced due to the influence of their surrounding environment. This results in higher activity during catalytic reactions. Aspirin, which targets the non-catalytic domain serine (Ser529 in human COX1) of cyclooxygenase, exerts its anti-inflammatory effect through covalent binding. β-lactam antibiotics, which targets the catalytic domain serine of penicillin-binding proteins, interferes with bacterial cell wall synthesis.

Through careful selection, we constructed a structural filter containing over 110 electrophilic groups. By analyzing the electrophilic fragments selected by the structural filter, we removed any molecules with trivial or undesirable structural features. Ultimately, we obtained 3,300 fragment molecules which can target serine and threonine residues and can be used for fragment-based covalent drug discovery.

Medicine Food Homology (MFH) means that some food themselves are medicines and there is no absolute boundary between them. MFH theory combines the function of food and medicine together scientifically and MFH materials can be used both for food and medicine. Besides nutritional value, MFH materials also have the functions in the prevention and treatment of disease and many other healthcare effects. Food as medicines has many benefits because of their safety while taking drugs will bring inevitable side effect to people. In order to ensure the safe use of functional food, National Health Commission of People's Republic of China made specific provisions on MFH items. More than 100 kinds of widely used MFH materials have been released.

Based on MFH items released by National Health Commission, PRC, MCE carefully designs a unique collection of 1,675 Medicine Food Homology Compounds with high safety that can be used for high throughput and high content screening for drug discovery.

Glycolysis is a series of metabolic processes by which one molecule of glucose is catabolized to two molecules of pyruvate with a net gain of two ATP. Glycolysis takes place in 10 steps and catalyzed by a series of enzyme, such as hexokinase, Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, Phosphofructokinase, etc. Glycolysis is used by all cells in the body for energy generation.

Most cancer cells exhibit increased glycolysis and use this metabolic pathway for generation of ATP as a main source of their energy supply. This phenomenon is known as the Warburg effect and is considered as one of the most fundamental metabolic alterations during malignant transformation. Because increased aerobic glycolysis is commonly seen in a wide spectrum of human cancers, development of novel glycolytic inhibitors as a new class of anticancer agents is likely to have broad therapeutic applications.

MCE provides a unique collection of 956 glycolysis compounds that mainly target hexokinase, glucokinase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, PDHK, etc. MCE Glycolysis Compound Library is a useful tool for glucose metabolism research and anti-cancer drug discovery.

Miao medicine is an important part of Chinese medicine, which carries the profound cultural heritage and rich life wisdom of the Hmongb people. Miao people live in a concentrated community in the mountainous area of the southwest border of China, which has a unique natural environment. Complex and diverse geology, lush natural vegetation, rich animal and plant species, a large number of mineral resources which provide a wide range of species sources for miao ethnicity medicine. On the other hand, due to the characteristics of the living environment of the Hmongb people, Miao medicine has demonstrated its unique therapeutic effect in the treatment of some endemic diseases, infectious diseases, insect, snake and beast bites, rheumatism and other diseases. With the development of modern science and technology, the research and application of seedling medicine are also deepening. Through the systematic study of the chemical composition and pharmacological action of the seedling medicine, it can provide a new idea and method for modern medicine.

MCE included 1,623 natural products from traditional miao ethnicity medicine, including animal, plant and mineral sources.

Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death in female genital malignancies, with the highest mortality rate in female genital malignancies. It is characterized by difficulty in detection in the early stage of the disease, high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. In fact, ovarian cancer includes many pathologic types. It is usually divided into epithelial ovarian cancer, malignant germ cell tumors and sex cord stromal tumors, of which epithelial ovarian cancer is the most dominant form. Clinical treatment of ovarian cancer prioritizes surgery combined with paclitaxel chemotherapy. However, due to the spread and drug resistance of tumor cells, the recurrence of ovarian cancer is high. In this case, combined with traditional methods, the development of new therapeutic agents can help to improve the treatment effect of ovarian cancer.

MCE designs a unique collection of 2,449 compounds with definite or potential anti-ovarian cancer activity, which mainly targeting the main targets of ovarian cancer such as PARP, ATM/ATR, VEGFR and HIF/HIF Prolyl-Hydroxylase, etc. It is an essential tool for development and research of anti-ovarian compounds.

Macrophages are effector cells of the innate immune system, engulfing bacteria and secreting pro-inflammatory and antibacterial mediators. They are an important component of the first line defense against pathogens and tumor cells. In addition, macrophages play an important role in eliminating damaged cells through programmed cell death. Like all immune cells, macrophages originate from pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. Macrophages play key functions in many physiological processes beyond homeostasis and innate immunity, including metabolic function, cell debris clearance, tissue repair, and remodeling. In order to fulfill their different functional roles, macrophages can polarize into a series of phenotypes, including classic (pro inflammatory, M1) and alternative (anti-inflammatory, healing promoting, M2) activation states, as well as a wide range of regulatory phenotypes and subtypes. Macrophages exist in all vertebrate tissues and have a dual function in host protection and tissue damage, maintaining a good balance.

MCE designs a unique collection of 198 macrophage related compounds. It is a good tool to be used for research on Inflammation, cancer and other diseases.

Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process in which blood changes from a liquid to a solid gel to form a blood clot. Thrombin, which is accurately and evenly generated in the injured part of blood vessels, is a key effector enzyme of the blood coagulation system and participates in many important biological processes, such as platelet activation, fibrinogen conversion to fibrin network, coagulation feedback amplification, etc. At the same time, to avoid the accidental formation of thrombus in the body, there is also an anticoagulant mechanism that inhibits blood coagulation.

Normal coagulation mechanism represents a balance between the pro-coagulant pathway in the injured site and anti-coagulant pathway beyond it. The blood coagulation system may be out of balance during the perioperative period or critical illness, which may lead to thrombosis or excessive bleeding. Therefore, the physiological study of coagulation balance is an important basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment of the abnormal coagulation process.

MCE supplies a unique collection of 1,184 compounds targeting key proteins in coagulation and anti-coagulation system. MCE Coagulation and Anti-coagulation Compound Library is a useful tool for study the mechanism of coagulation and anticoagulation.

An emerging drug design method is based on the secondary binding site effect, where small molecule drugs are designed to bind to secondary binding sites on target biomolecules rather than primary orthomorphic sites. Successful potential drugs (known as allosteric modulators) will be able to bind to allosteric sites and remotely alter (or modify) the conformation of the main orthosteric binding sites of biological targets. Allosteric modulators (AMs) are ligands of proteins that act through binding sites different from natural (orthosteric) ligand sites. AMs are relatively small, more lipophilic, and more rigid compounds. The binding efficacy of AMs with their targets is often slightly lower. AMs are divided into positive AMs (PAMs) and negative AMs (NAMs). AMs are ideal drug targets because they can fine-tune receptor activity while preserving the spatial and temporal signal transduction characteristics of endogenous ligands, resulting in fewer targeted side effects, improved subtype selectivity, and better promotion of biased signal transduction than normal ligands.

MCE designs a unique collection of 212 small allosteric modulators. It is a good tool to be used for research on metabolize, cancer and other diseases.

Chinese herbal therapy is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It has been used for centuries in China, where herbs are considered fundamental therapy for many acute and chronic conditions. Many studies indicated TCM exerted an overall regulatory effect via multi-component and multi-target network. Active components from Traditional Chinese Medicine possess many medicinal properties such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-bacterial effects, which makes it an important source of new drugs. Nearly 200 modern medicines have been developed either directly or indirectly from the plants used as medicines in China. For example, artemisinin, used in multidrug resistant malaria, was first isolated from the Chinese herb Artemisia annua L. Today, scientists continue to identify compounds in Chinese herbal remedies that may be useful in the development of new therapeutic agents applicable in Western medicine.

MCE designs a unique collection of 2,872 active compounds of Chinese Herbal Medicines. MCE Traditional Chinese Medicine Active Compound Library is a useful tool for discovery new drugs from TCM.

Chemokines, or chemotactic cytokines, are small cytokines or signaling proteins secreted by cells. They are a component of intercellular communication, controlling the directional movement of immune cells especially leukocytes, as well as other cell types, for instance, endothelial and epithelial cells, which are essential to maintain human health and the function of the immune system.

The biological effects of chemokines are achieved by binding to chemokine receptors, which are G protein-coupled receptors found on the surface of leukocytes. Some chemokine receptors are involved in directing tumor metastasis and over-expression by certain tumors. So inhibiting the interaction between chemokine and chemokine receptors on the surface of tumor cells may be a new possible therapeutic approach. Some chemokine receptors are coreceptors for HIV entry, and related inhibitors have been approved by the FDA to treat patients with HIV. Obviously, chemokines and chemokine receptors have become new targets for studying cancer, HIV, inflammation, and other diseases.

MCE supplies a unique collection of 190 chemokine or chemokine receptor inhibitors and activators, all of which have the identified inhibitory or activated effect on chemokine or chemokine receptors. MCE Chemokine Library is a useful tool for drug research related to cancer, AIDS, and wound therapy.

Liposomes are spherical or multilayered spherical vesicles formed by the self-assembly of diacyl chain phospholipids (lipid bilayers) in aqueous solutions, which can be made from natural or synthetic phospholipids and exhibit good biocompatibility and low toxicity. They can serve as delivery carriers for various bioactive substances (such as drugs, proteins, nucleic acids, etc.) and are widely used in biomedical and chemical research. The main advantages of liposomes include 1) Protective effect: Their bilayer structure can protect encapsulated molecules from enzymatic degradation, oxidation, and other influences, extending stability and activity; 2) Active targeting: Surface modifications enable active targeting, enhancing the concentration of drugs or molecules in specific tissues or cells; 3) Customizability: The composition and structure of liposomes can be adjusted according to needs, such as altering phospholipid types or adding targeting ligands. These properties make liposomes highly valuable in developing novel drug delivery systems, serving as nucleic acid carriers for gene transfection, studying cellular uptake mechanisms and drug release kinetics, as well as developing functional food additives to improve the bioavailability of nutritional components.

MCE contains 143 liposome compounds, which is a good tool for lipidomic-related studies.

Mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes can modify multiple signaling pathways and in turn cell metabolism, which facilitates tumorigenesis. The paramount hallmark of tumor metabolism is “aerobic glycolysis” or the Warburg effect, coined by Otto Warburg in 1926, in which cancer cells produce most of energy from glycolysis pathway regardless of whether in aerobic or anaerobic condition. Usually, cancer cells are highly glycolytic (glucose addiction) and take up more glucose than do normal cells from outside. The increased uptake of glucose is facilitated by the overexpression of several isoforms of membrane glucose transporters (GLUTs). Likewise, the metabolic pathways of glutamine, amino acid and fat metabolism are also altered. Recent trends in anti-cancer drug discovery suggests that targeting the altered metabolic pathways of cancer cells result in energy crisis inside the cancer cells and can selectively inhibit cancer cell proliferation by delaying or suppressing tumor growth.

MCE provides a unique collection of 2,737 compounds which cover various tumor metabolism-related signaling pathways. These compounds can be used for anti-cancer metabolism targets identification, validation as well anti-cancer drug discovery.

Copper is an important co-factor of all biological enzymes, but if the concentration exceeds the threshold of maintaining the homeostasis mechanism, copper will lead to cytotoxicity. This death mechanism has been named "Cuproptosis".

The mechanism of cuproptosis distinct from all other known mechanisms of regulated cell death, including apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis.

Copper combine with the lipoylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), leading to lipoylated protein aggregation and subsequent loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins, ultimately resulting in protein toxicity stress and cell death. Studies have shown that the necessary factors for cuproptosis include the presence of glutathione, mitochondrial metabolism of galactose and pyruvate, and glutamine metabolism.

Targeted regulation of cuproptosis is a potential choice to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and other diseases. For example, up-regulation of LIPT1 may inhibit the occurrence and development of tumors by destroying TCA in mitochondria and then inducing cuproptosis.

MCE supplies a unique collection of 289 cuproptosis-related compounds, all of which act on the targets or signaling pathways related to cuproptosis and may have in inhibitory or activated effect on cuproptosis. MCE Cuproptosis Library is a useful tool for drug research related to cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and other diseases.