Infection

An infection occurs when another organism enters a person’s body and causes disease. The organisms that cause infections are very diverse and can include things like viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The immune system is an effective barrier against infectious agents.

MCE provides a unique collection of 2882 anti-infective compounds with anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-parasite activities that can be used for drug screening and other research in anti-microbial area.

New drug development is a time-consuming and high-cost process. Drug repurposing (also called drug repositioning, reprofiling or re‑tasking) offers various advantages over developing an entirely new drug for a given indication, such as lower risk and less investment. Clinical drugs have confirmed bioactivities, clear mechanisms and high safety that are suitable for drug repurposing.

MCE owns a unique collection of 2211 clinical compounds that refer to various research areas including anti-cancer, anti-infection, anti-inflammation, nervous disease. Those compounds are of detailed information on clinical development status, research area, targets, etc.

New drug development is a time-consuming and high-cost process. Drug repurposing (also called drug repositioning, reprofiling or re‑tasking) offers various advantages over developing an entirely new drug for a given indication, such as lower risk and less investment. Clinical drugs have confirmed bioactivities, clear mechanisms and high safety that are suitable for drug repurposing.

MCE owns a unique collection of 2728 clinical compounds that refer to various research areas including anti-cancer, anti-infection, anti-inflammation, nervous disease. Those compounds are of detailed information on clinical development status, research area, targets, etc. Clinical Compound Library Plus, with powerful screening capability, further complements Clinical Compound Library (HY-L026) by adding some compounds with low solubility or solution stability (Part B) to this library. All those supplementary are supplied in powder form.

Programmed cell death pathways, including apoptosis, pyroptosis and necroptosis, are regulated by unique sets of host proteins that coordinate a variety of biological outcomes. Pyroptosis is a highly inflammatory form of programmed cell death that occurs most frequently upon infection with intracellular pathogens and is likely to form part of the antimicrobial response. This process promotes the rapid clearance of various bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoan infections by removing intracellular replication niches and enhancing the host's defensive responses. Pyroptosis has been widely studied in inflammatory and infection disease models. Recently, there are growing evidences that pyroptosis also plays an important role in the development of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and Metabolic disorder, etc.

MCE designs a unique collection of 1256 pyroptosis-related compounds mainly focusing on the key targets in the pyroptosis signaling pathway and can be used in the research of pyroptosis signal pathway and related diseases.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a hepatotropic enveloped positive- strand RNA virus (family Flaviviridae) that infects the parenchymal cells of the liver. HCV infection is a significant public health burden. Globally, an estimated 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection. A significant number of those who are chronically infected will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer. To date, there is no vaccine against HCV, and combination pegylated alpha interferon (pIFN-) and ribavirin, the main standard-of-care treatment for HCV, is effective in only a subset of patients and is associated with a wide spectrum of toxic side effects and complications. More recently, new therapeutic approaches that target essential components of the HCV life cycle have been developed, including direct-acting antiviral (DAA) that specifically block a viral enzyme or functional protein and host-targeted agents (HTA) that block interactions between host proteins and viral components that are essential to the viral life cycle. However, the genetic diversity of HCV viruses and the stage of liver disease (i.e., cirrhosis) are revealing themselves as obstacles for effective, pan-genotypic treatments. There still exists a need for the discovery and development of new HCV inhibitors. In particular, since the future of HCV therapy will likely consist of a cocktail approach using multiple inhibitors that target different steps of infection, new antivirals targeting all steps of the viral infection cycle.

MCE offers a unique collection of 283 compounds with identified and potential anti-HCV activity. MCE Anti- Hepatitis C Virus Compound Library is a useful tool for discovery new anti-HCV drugs and other anti-infection research.

Glycosides are compounds in which a sugar group is bonded through its anomeric carbon to another group via a glycosidic bond. Many biologically active compounds are glycosides. Glycosides comprise several important classes of compounds such as hormones, sweeteners, alkaloids, flavonoids, antibiotics, etc. The glycosidic residue can be crucial for their activity or can only improve pharmacokinetic parameters. Glycosides, which exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-infection, anti-cancer and anti-oxidative properties, play numerous important roles in living organisms, such as streptomycin, as an aminoglycoside antibiotic, has anti-infection activity. Anthracyclines possess good antibacterial and anti-cancer activities.

MCE Glycoside Compound Library contains a unique collection of 788 glycoside compounds and is a useful tool to discovery glycoside drugs.

MCE EMA-Approved Drug Library consists of 674 EMA-approved drugs with high pharmacological diversity. All drugs in this library have been completed extensive preclinical and clinical studies and have well-characterized bioactivities, safety and bioavailability properties. MCE EMA-Approved Drug Library is a useful tool for drug repurposing which could dramatically accelerate drug development.

Viruses are much simpler organisms than bacteria, and they are made from protein substances and nucleic acid. Despite the fact that the exact mechanism of infection is extremely specific to each type of virus, the general scheme of infection can be represented in the following manner: A virus is absorbed at the surface of a host cell and then permeates through the membrane, where it releases nucleic acid from its protein protection. Then the viral nucleic acid begins to replicate, and transcription of the viral genome takes place either in the cytoplasm, or in the nucleus of the host cell. As a result of these events, a large amount of viral nucleic acid and protein are made to make new generations of virions. Therefore, one mechanism of action of antiviral drugs is to interfere with the ability of a virus to get into a target cell. A second mechanism of action is to target the processes that synthesize virus components after a virus invades a cell, such as nucleotide or nucleoside analogs.

MCE designs a unique collection of 1270 anti-virus compounds that target several viruses, including SARS-CoV, HBV, HCV, HIV, HSV and Influenza Virus. It’s an effective tool for anti-virus drug discovery.

Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)/Rel proteins include NF-κB2 p52/p100, NF-κB1 p50/p105, c-Rel, RelA/p65, and RelB. These proteins function as dimeric transcription factors that regulate the expression of genes and influence a broad range of biological processes including innate and adaptive immunity, inflammation, stress responses, B-cell development, and lymphoid organogenesis. NF-κB plays a key role in regulating the immune response to infection. In addition, activation of the NF-κB pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Incorrect regulation of NF-κB has been linked to cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, septic shock, viral infection, and improper immune development.

MCE owns a unique collection of 805 small molecule compounds that can be used in the research of NF-κB signaling pathway or high throughput screening (HTS) related drug discovery.

Phenolic compounds are usually referred to as a diverse group of naturally occurring compounds with multiple medical properties, such as antioxidants, antimicrobial properties. Those compounds are commonly found in food and plants. They have high synthetic, medicinal and industrial values. Polyphenols are compounds with multiple phenolic functionalities. Naturally occurring polyphenols are known to have biological activities for use as drugs, for example, in diseases like AIDS, heart ailments, ulcer formation, bacterial infection, mutagenesis and neural disorders.

MCE offers a unique collection of 1183 natural phenol compounds which is a useful tool for drug discovery as an important source of lead compounds.

Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway that is essential for cell survival, differentiation, development, and homeostasis. The process of autophagy in mammalian cells is as follows: a portion of cytoplasm, including organelles, is enclosed by a phagophore or isolation membrane to form an autophagosome. The outer membrane of the autophagosome subsequently fuses with the endosome and then the lysosome, and the internal material is degraded. Autophagy plays a wide variety of physiological and pathophysiological roles. Defective autophagy contributes to various pathologies, including infections, cancer, neurodegeneration, aging, and heart disease.

MCE provides a unique collection of 1371 autophagy pathway-related compounds that is a useful tool for the research of autophagy-related regulation and diseases.

Peptides are a group of biologically active substances that are involved in various cellular functions of organisms. Peptides are often used in functional analysis, vaccine research and especially in the field of drug research and development. At present, more than 80 peptide drugs have reached the market for a wide range of diseases, including diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, HIV infection and chronic pain.

MedChemExpress (MCE) offers a comprehensive collection of 1354 peptides, including bioactive peptides, amino acid derivatives, and blocking peptides. MCE Peptide Library can be used for peptide library screening, peptide drug discovery, vaccine development, target verification, structural activity research, etc.

Antibody inhibitors are compounds with the same activity as the original therapeutic antibodies, which can be used as positive controls for drug efficacy evaluation and other studies. Antibody inhibitors can also assist in verifying the functional activity of the target protein. These antibody inhibitors are active in vivo and can achieve certain physiological functions by blocking or neutralizing target proteins, such as CD20, HER2, EGFR, VEGFR, TNF-α, etc. In drug screening, antibody inhibitor-based screening can be carried out to identify active compounds targeting target proteins and target diseases.

MCE can provide 21 antibody inhibitors that can be used for drug development in cancer, immunity, infection and other hot research areas.

Antibiotics are types of antimicrobial products used for the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections. Antibiotics can kill or inhibit bacterial growth. Although the target of an antibiotic is bacteria, some antibiotics also attack fungi and protozoans. However, antibiotics rarely have an effect on viruses. The major mechanism underlying antibiotics is the inhibition or regulation of enzymes involved in cell wall biosynthesis, nucleic acid metabolism and repair, protein synthesis, or disruption of membrane structure. Many of these cellular functions targeted by antibiotics are most active in multiplying cells. Since there is often overlap in these functions between prokaryotic bacterial cells and eukaryotic mammalian cells, it is not surprising that some antibiotics have also been found to be useful as anticancer agents.

MCE supplies a unique collection of 633 antibiotics, including penicillins, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, macrolides, etc. MCE Antibiotics Library is a useful tool for anti-bacterial or anti-cancer drugs discovery.

Orthopoxvirus is a genus of viruses in the family Poxviridae and subfamily Chordopoxvirinae. The orthopoxvirus genus consists of 12 viruses including variola virus, vaccinia virus (VV), cowpox viruses (CV), monkeypox virus, and camelpox virus. Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide in 1980, but some other orthopoxvirus, such as monkeypox virus, are still threats to human health.

There are not many drugs available for orthopoxvirus treatment. The only product currently available for treatment of complications of Orthopoxvirus infection is vaccinia immunoglobulin (VIG). In 2021, brincidofovir was approved by FDA for the treatment of smallpox and tecovirimat was approved by EMA for the treatment of monkeypox in 2022. A few active compounds including interferon and interferon inducers, and a variety of nucleosides or nucleotides have been reported to have activity against orthopoxvirus.

MCE carefully prepared a unique collection of 36 compounds reported with the anti- orthopoxvirus activity which can be used for drug screening and other research about orthopoxvirus.

The high rates of morbidity and mortality caused by fungal infections are associated with the current limited antifungal arsenal and the high toxicity of the compounds. Additionally, identifying novel drug targets is challenging because there are many similarities between fungal and human cells. The most common antifungal targets include fungal RNA synthesis and cell wall and membrane components, though new antifungal targets are being investigated. Nonetheless, fungi have developed resistance mechanisms, such as overexpression of efflux pump proteins, overexpression and changes in drug targets and biofilm formation, emphasizing the importance of discovering new antifungal drugs and therapies. Due to the limited antifungal arsenal, researchers have sought to improve treatment via different approaches, such as the combination of antifungal drugs, development of new formulations for antifungal agents and modifications to the chemical structures of traditional antifungals, etc.

MCE offers a unique collection of 339 compounds with validated antifungal activities. MCE antifungal compound library is an effective tool for drug repurposing screening, combination screening and biological investigation.

Protein ubiquitination is an enzymatic post-translational modification in which an ubiquitin protein is attached to a substrate protein. Ubiquitination involves three main steps: activation, conjugation, and ligation, performed by ubiquitin-activating enzymes (E1s), ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s), and ubiquitin ligases (E3s), respectively. Ubiquitination affects cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell cycle, DNA damage repair, and membrane transportation, etc. by regulating the degradation of proteins (via the proteasome and lysosome), altering the cellular localization of proteins, affecting proteins activity, and promoting or preventing protein-protein interactions. Deregulation of ubiquitin pathway leads to many diseases such as neurodegeneration, cancer, infection and immunity, etc.

MCE offers a unique collection of 286 small molecule modulators with biological activity used for ubiquitination research. Compounds in this library target the key enzymes in ubiquitin pathway. MCE Ubiquitination Compound Library is a useful tool for the research of ubiquitination regulation and the corresponding diseases.

Blood cancers, also called hematologic cancers, occur when abnormal blood cells start growing out of control, interrupting the function of normal blood cells, which fight off infection and produce new blood cells. Most blood cancers start in the bone marrow, which is where blood is produced. There are three main types of blood cancers: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, which afflict millions of children and adults every year, and are often deadly.

Some common blood cancer treatments include stem cell transplantation, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy or a combination thereof. As we begin to understand the key signaling pathways and molecular drivers of malignant transformation in haematological disorders, new treatment strategies will continue to be developed.

MCE offers a unique collection of 2676 compounds with identified and potential anti-blood cancer activity. These compounds target blood cancer’s major targets and signaling pathways. MCE anti-blood cancer compound library is a useful tool for anti-blood cancer drugs screening and other related research.

Liver cancer is one of the leading malignancies which occupies the second position in cancer deaths worldwide, becoming serious threat to human health. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also known as hepatoma is the most common type accounting for approximately 90% of all liver cancers.

Current evidence indicates that during hepatocarcinogenesis, two main pathogenic mechanisms prevail: (1) cirrhosis associated with hepatic regeneration after tissue damage caused by hepatitis infection, toxins or metabolic influences, and (2) mutations occurring in single or multiple oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Both mechanisms have been linked with alterations in several important cellular signaling pathways. These include the RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, WNT/b-catenin pathway, insulin-like growth factor pathway, c-MET/HGFR pathway , etc.

MCE offers a unique collection of 1816 compounds with identified and potential anti-liver cancer activity. MCE anti-liver cancer compound library is a useful tool for anti-liver cancer drugs screening and other related research.