Topics and Expertise: GPCR

Drilling down to the details of opioid signaling

Wed Jul 11, 2018
Study captures an opioid drug binding to a µ-opioid receptor
Antoine Koehl (Manglik lab)

Study captures an opioid drug (orange) binding to a µ-opioid receptor (green) and activating various signaling proteins (cyan, purple, gold), which produce the effects of opioid drugs, like pain relief and addiction.

Despite using opioids for centuries for pain management, we still don’t have a complete understanding of how drugs like morphine and oxycodone actually work. And that’s a problem for patients, who must weather side effects that can range from nausea and constipation to cognitive impairment,...

Shoichet receives DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences

Thu Dec 1, 2016
DOCK graphic
Robert Rizzo

Graphic depiction of a typical DOCK setup used toward the discovery of a potential disease inhibitor—in this case, testing compounds for binding to an HIV protein.

Brian Shoichet, PhD, faculty member in the School’s Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, has been named the 2017 recipient of the DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences.

Shoichet study sheds light on “dark” cell receptors, potential drug targets

Mon Nov 9, 2015
Shoichet

Brian Shoichet, PhD

More than a quarter of all drugs work by targeting one of a large family of proteins called G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Hundreds of different GPCRs are embedded in cell membranes, converting stimuli from the outside world—neurotransmitters, hormones, even light—into intracellular signals...