Synergistically acting agonists and antagonists of G protein-coupled receptors prevent photoreceptor cell degeneration.

ABSTRACT: Photoreceptor cell degeneration leads to visual impairment and blindness in several types of retinal disease. However, the discovery of safe and effective therapeutic strategies conferring photoreceptor cell protection remains challenging. Targeting distinct cellular pathways with low doses of different drugs that produce a functionally synergistic effect could provide a strategy for preventing or treating retinal dystrophies. We took a systems pharmacology approach to identify potential combination therapies using a mouse model of light-induced retinal degeneration. We showed that a combination of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs that act on different G protein (heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding protein)-coupled receptors (GPCRs) exhibited synergistic activity that

SUBMITTER: Chen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4972460 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature