Cellular Biomechanics in Drug Screening and Evaluation: Mechanopharmacology

R Krishnan; JA Park; CY Seow; PVS Lee; AG Stewart

Journal article

Cellular Biomechanics in Drug Screening and Evaluation: Mechanopharmacology

R Krishnan, JA Park, CY Seow, PVS Lee, AG Stewart

Trends in Pharmacological Sciences | Published : 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2015.10.005

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Abstract

The study of mechanobiology is now widespread. The impact of cell and tissue mechanics on cellular responses is well appreciated. However, knowledge of the impact of cell and tissue mechanics on pharmacological responsiveness, and its application to drug screening and mechanistic investigations, have been very limited in scope. We emphasize the need for a heightened awareness of the important bidirectional influence of drugs and biomechanics in all living systems. We propose that the term 'mechanopharmacology' be applied to approaches that employ in vitro systems, biomechanically appropriate to the relevant (patho)physiology, to identify new drugs and drug targets. This article describes the..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Peter Lee Author

Alastair Stewart Author

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Grants

Awarded by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank Fernando Guzman for the image used in Figure 1. The work of the authors that is discussed in this manuscript was supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (105966;1045372), a Dyason Fellowship, and a Global Mobility Strategic Enhancement grant (University of Melbourne).