Molecular Pharmacology: From DNA To Drug Discovery

Molecular Pharmacology: From DNA to Drug Discovery

This textbook provides a fresh, comprehensive and accessibleintroduction to the rapidly expanding field of molecularpharmacology. Adopting a drug target-based, rather than thetraditional organ/system based, approach this innovative guidereflects the current advances and research trend towards molecularbased drug design, derived from a detailed understanding ofchemical responses in the body. Drugs are then tailored to fit atreatment profile, rather than the traditional method of‘trial and error’ drug discovery which focuses ontesting chemicals on animals or cell cultures and matching theireffects to treatments.

Providing an invaluable resource for advanced under-graduate andMSc/PhD students, new researchers to the field and practitionersfor continuing professional development, MolecularPharmacology explores; recent advances and developments in thefour major human drug target families (G-protein coupled receptors,ion channels, nuclear receptors and transporters), cloning of drugtargets, transgenic animal technology, gene therapy,pharmacogenomics and looks at the role of calcium in the cell.

• Current - focuses on cutting edge techniques andapproaches, including new methods to quantify biological activitiesin different systems and ways to interpret and understandpharmacological data.
• Cutting Edge - highlights advances in pharmacogenomicsand explores how an individual’s genetic makeup influencestheir response to therapeutic drugs and the potential for harmfulside effects.
• Applied - includes numerous, real-world examples and adetailed case-study based chapter which looks at current andpossible future treatment strategies for cystic fibrosis. This casestudy considers the relative merits of both drug therapy forspecific classes of mutation and gene therapy to correct theunderlying defect.
• Accessible - contains a comprehensive glossary,suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter and anassociated website that provides a complete set of figures fromwithin the book.

A companion website with additional resources is available atwww.wiley.com/go/dickenson/dnamolecular