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Small Molecules: A Field of Opportunities for Differential Diagnosis and Precision Medicine

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 9127

Special Issue Editors

Centro de Química Estrutural, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: adductomics; drug metabolism; mass spectrometry; protein covalent adducts; biomarkers of exposure; diagnosis biomarkers; molecular mechanisms of chemically-induced adverse reactions; bioactivation mechanisms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
CEDOC, Chronic Diseases Research Centre, NOVA Medical School, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1169-006 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: pharmacology; toxicology; drug metabolism; pharmacokinetics; personalized medicine; toxicokinetics; iatrogenic effects of drug; chronic toxicity; models on toxicity; translational pharmacology; therapeutic drug monitoring
CEDOC, Chronic Diseases Research Centre, NOVA Medical School, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1169-006 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: pharmacology; toxicology; drug induced renal injury; metabolomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioral factors. While NCDs are often associated with aging, each year, 15 million people die prematurely due to NCDs. Early detection along with timely and personalized treatment are critical for improving the management of these diseases.

The small-molecule profile is closely linked to phenotype and reflects not only the dysregulation of metabolic networks but also the individual ability to respond to these stimuli. Therefore, assessment of the endogenous exposure to small molecules (metabolites and peptides) constitutes a huge opportunity for achieving earlier diagnosis of NCDs and, thereby, the application of preventive, rather than reactive, clinical strategies. In addition, it offers the possibility for differential diagnosis—distinguishing different molecular phenotypes in a particular NCD or between distinct NCDs that share clinical features. This will be key for the establishment of personalized therapies and, hence, better management of NCDs.

This Special Issue includes original research and review articles on topics ranging from the development of new analytical methodologies as well as targeted and untargeted metabolomics and peptidomics works providing the identification of individual or combinations of small molecules that can be used for the differential diagnosis of diseases and, in particular, of NCDs.

Dr. Alexandra Antunes
Dr. Sofia Azeredo Pereira
Dr. Judit Morello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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.

Keywords

  • non-communicable diseases
  • metabolites
  • metabolomics
  • peptidomics
  • xenobiotics
  • biomarker discovery
  • differential diagnosis

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 2575 KiB  
Article
Cysteine as a Multifaceted Player in Kidney, the Cysteine-Related Thiolome and Its Implications for Precision Medicine
by Maria João Correia, António B. Pimpão, Dalila G. F. Fernandes, Judit Morello, Catarina O. Sequeira, Joaquim Calado, Alexandra M. M. Antunes, Manuel S. Almeida, Patrícia Branco, Emília C. Monteiro, João B. Vicente, Jacinta Serpa and Sofia A. Pereira
Molecules 2022, 27(4), 1416; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27041416 - 19 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5905
Abstract
In this review encouraged by original data, we first provided in vivo evidence that the kidney, comparative to the liver or brain, is an organ particularly rich in cysteine. In the kidney, the total availability of cysteine was higher in cortex tissue than [...] Read more.
In this review encouraged by original data, we first provided in vivo evidence that the kidney, comparative to the liver or brain, is an organ particularly rich in cysteine. In the kidney, the total availability of cysteine was higher in cortex tissue than in the medulla and distributed in free reduced, free oxidized and protein-bound fractions (in descending order). Next, we provided a comprehensive integrated review on the evidence that supports the reliance on cysteine of the kidney beyond cysteine antioxidant properties, highlighting the relevance of cysteine and its renal metabolism in the control of cysteine excess in the body as a pivotal source of metabolites to kidney biomass and bioenergetics and a promoter of adaptive responses to stressors. This view might translate into novel perspectives on the mechanisms of kidney function and blood pressure regulation and on clinical implications of the cysteine-related thiolome as a tool in precision medicine. Full article
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16 pages, 1880 KiB  
Article
Development of Liposome-Based Immunoassay for the Detection of Cardiac Troponin I
by Remya Radha and Mohammad Hussein Al-Sayah
Molecules 2021, 26(22), 6988; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26226988 - 19 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2179
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the foremost causes of mortality in intensive care units worldwide. The development of a rapid method to quantify cardiac troponin I (cTnI)—the gold-standard biomarker of myocardial infarction (MI) (or “heart attack”)—becomes crucial in the early diagnosis and [...] Read more.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the foremost causes of mortality in intensive care units worldwide. The development of a rapid method to quantify cardiac troponin I (cTnI)—the gold-standard biomarker of myocardial infarction (MI) (or “heart attack”)—becomes crucial in the early diagnosis and treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). This study investigates the development of an efficient fluorescent “sandwich” immunoassay using liposome-based fluorescent signal amplification and thereby enables the sensing and quantification of serum-cTnI at a concentration relevant to clinical settings. The calcein-loaded liposomes were utilized as fluorescent nano vehicles, and these have exhibited appropriate stability and efficient fluorescent properties. The standardized assay was sensitive and selective towards cTnI in both physiological buffer solutions and spiked human serum samples. The novel assay presented noble analytical results with sound dynamic linearity over a wide concentration range of 0 to 320 ng/mL and a detection limit of 6.5 ng/mL for cTnI in the spiked human serum. Full article
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