Themed collection Targeting and extending the eukaryotic druggable genome with natural products

The Natural Product Reports themed collection on targeting and extending the eukaryotic druggable genome with natural products is introduced by the Guest Editors, Hendrik Luesch and John B. MacMillan.

This review highlights different mechanisms how natural products interfere with the elongation phase of eukaryotic protein biosynthesis, and it discusses therapeutic applications thereof.

This highlight reviews natural products targeting of the eIF4A RNA helicase by interfering with RNA-binding or acting as interfacial inhibitors to increase RNA resident time.

This review describes the role of natural products as starting points for the development of selective protease inhibitors, examples of approved agents, the clinical and preclinical pipeline, and emerging opportunities beyond classical applications.

NRF2 is a transcription factor that is activated by many natural products for chemoprevention, but aberrant NRF2 activation can lead to disease and natural products have been used to inhibit the NRF2 pathway.

This highlight reviews functions and therapeutic potential of diverse natural products that target different components of the mammalian protein secretory pathway.

Natural products harnessed from the diverse universe of compounds within the bioenvironment are being used to modulate ion channels, a vast super-family of membrane proteins that play critical physiological roles in excitable and non-excitable cells.

This review article focuses on natural products that bind to eukaryotic membrane lipids, and includes clinically important molecules and key research tools. How their mechanism was unveiled, and how they are used in research are also mentioned.

Chronic, low-grade inflammation is linked to aging and has been termed “inflammaging”.

This review describes natural products that target the cytoskeleton, including microtubules, actin, intermediate filaments, and septins, highlighting their utility for the treatment of human disease.

This review presents examples that illustrate the effectiveness of using a chemical genetics approach for the discovery of biologically active marine natural products and their molecular targets.