Chemical Molecules Isolated from Natural Sources and Synthetic Drug Discovery for Liver and Kidney Disease

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Biomedicines, “Chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and Synthetic Drug Discovery for Liver and Kidney Disease”, aims to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary overview of the current knowledge in this field.

The liver and the kidney act as homeostatic regulators by orchestrating multiple metabolic processes. Liver and kidney disease resulting from pro-oxidant and metabolic imbalances have long-term adverse consequences, making these organs more susceptible to acute or chronic disease.

New chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and synthetic drugs have beneficial effects and are key factors against hepatic and renal disease. Chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and synthetic drug discoveries can neutralize reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), counteract oxidative damage, interrupt ROS/RNS-mediated chain reactions and improve redox potential, i.e., by influencing metabolic imbalance. Recently, emphasis has been placed on the fact that chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and synthetic drugs exhibit increased liver- and kidney-protective effects. Therefore, knowing the specifics of their mechanisms of action is important for understanding their teratogenic and carcinogenic properties and maintaining correct cell signaling processes. These molecules offer cellular protection mediated by macromolecular activity and influence the epigenetic mechanisms altered by chronic or acute activators of oxidative stress. Understanding the mechanism of organ protection in different model systems is challenging but necessary. Thus, newly available chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and synthetic drug discovery can help us address the challenges associated with protecting both organs. This multidisciplinary topic is thus of particular interest, and it has the potential to expand the horizons of biomedicine.

We invite authors to submit original research articles and reviews that focus on the biochemical functions and therapeutic potential of the chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and synthetic drug discovery. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Drug discovery using chemical molecules isolated from natural sources;
• Synthetic drug discovery;
• Liver disease;
• Kidney disease;
• Metabolic/signaling pathways;
• Immuno-regulatory function;
• Reactive oxygen/nitrogen species;
• Metabolic processes;
• Biomarkers;
• Inflammation;
• Recent advances in liver and kidney therapies, based on protection with chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and synthetic drug discoveries.
• Recent advances in liver and kidney therapies, after symptomatic COVID-19, based on protection with the chemical molecules isolated from natural sources and synthetic drug discoveries.

Dr. Yanka D. Karamalakova
Dr. Ekaterina Georgieva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• drug discovery using chemical molecules isolated from natural sources
• synthetic drug discovery
• metabolic/signaling pathways
• reactive oxygen/nitrogen species
• metabolic processes
• liver and kidney therapies