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Saravanan KS, Satish KS, Saraswathy GR, Kuri U, Vastrad SJ, Giri R, Dsouza PL, Kumar AP, Nair G. Innovative target mining stratagems to navigate drug repurposing endeavours. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2024; 205:303-355. [PMID: 38789185 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2024.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
The conventional theory linking a single gene with a particular disease and a specific drug contributes to the dwindling success rates of traditional drug discovery. This requires a substantial shift focussing on contemporary drug design or drug repurposing, which entails linking multiple genes to diverse physiological or pathological pathways and drugs. Lately, drug repurposing, the art of discovering new/unlabelled indications for existing drugs or candidates in clinical trials, is gaining attention owing to its success rates. The rate-limiting phase of this strategy lies in target identification, which is generally driven through disease-centric and/or drug-centric approaches. The disease-centric approach is based on exploration of crucial biomolecules such as genes or proteins underlying pathological cascades of the disease of interest. Investigating these pathological interplays aids in the identification of potential drug targets that can be leveraged for novel therapeutic interventions. The drug-centric approach involves various strategies such as exploring the mechanism of adverse drug reactions that can unearth potential targets, as these untoward reactions might be considered desirable therapeutic actions in other disease conditions. Currently, artificial intelligence is an emerging robust tool that can be used to translate the aforementioned intricate biological networks to render interpretable data for extracting precise molecular targets. Integration of multiple approaches, big data analytics, and clinical corroboration are essential for successful target mining. This chapter highlights the contemporary strategies steering target identification and diverse frameworks for drug repurposing. These strategies are illustrated through case studies curated from recent drug repurposing research inclined towards neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, infections, immunological, and cardiovascular disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamatchi Sundara Saravanan
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Kshreeraja S Satish
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Ganesan Rajalekshmi Saraswathy
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
| | - Ushnaa Kuri
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Soujanya J Vastrad
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Ritesh Giri
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Prizvan Lawrence Dsouza
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Adusumilli Pramod Kumar
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Gouri Nair
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
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Fatima A, Ibrahim M, Naseer A, Pervez A, Asad M, Shah AA, Hasan F, Alonazi WB, Ferheen I, Khan S. Identification, Genome Sequencing, and Characterizations of Helicobacter pylori Sourced from Pakistan. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2658. [PMID: 38004670 PMCID: PMC10673187 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The stomach's colonization by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) results in gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancer. Frequently, pain is treated with medication, but resistant H. pylori infections are not. Therefore, it is important to find pharmacological targets and improved treatments for resistant H. pylori strains. The aim of the current study was sampling, identification, drug susceptibility testing following genome sequencing and comparative genome-wide analysis of selected H. pylori strains from Pakistan with three representative strains for virulence and drug-resistant characteristics. Based on culture, biochemistry, and molecular biology, 84 strains of H. pylori were identified, which made up 47% of the enrolled cases. Among all H. pylori strains, the highest resistance was reported for metronidazole with 82 H. pylori strains (98%), followed by clarithromycin with 62 resistant strains (74%). Among metronidazole-resistant strains, 38 strains (46%) were also resistant to clarithromycin, contributing 61% of clarithromycin resistant cases. Two strains, HPA1 and HPA2, isolated from 'gastritis' and 'gastric ulcer' patients, respectively, were further processed for WGS. The draft genome sequences of H. pylori strains HPA1 and HPA2 encode 1.66 Mbp and 1.67 Mbp genome size, 24 and 4 contiguous DNA sequences, and 1650 and 1625 coding sequences, respectively. Both the genomes showed greater than 90% similarity with the reference strain H. pylori ATCC 43504/PMSS1. The antibiotic-resistant genes were identified among all the strains with overall similarity above 95%, with minor differences in the sequence similarity. Using the virulent gene data obtained from the Virulence Factor Database, 75 to 85 virulent genes were identified in the five genome assemblies with various key genes such as cytolethal distending toxin (cdt), type IV secretion system, cag PAI, plasticity region, cell-motility- and flagellar-associated genes, neutrophil-activating protein (HP-NAP), T4SS effector cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA), and urease-associated genes ureA and ureB, etc. Sequence similarity between the virulence factors found in this study and reference genes was at least 90%. In summary, the results of our study showed the relationship between clinical results and specific H. pylori strains' (HPA1 and HPA2) genetics such as antibiotic resistance and specific virulence factors. These findings provide valued understanding of the epidemiology of H. pylori-associated diseases. Moreover, identification and genomics analysis have provided insights into the epidemiology, genetic diversity, pathogenicity, and potential drug resistance genes of H. pylori strains, offering a foundation for developing more targeted and effective medical interventions, including anti-virulent medications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anees Fatima
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; (A.F.); (A.A.S.); (F.H.)
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Health & Biological Sciences, Abbottabad University of Science & Technology, Abbottabad 22500, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Ibrahim
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Sahiwal Campus, Sahiwal 55000, Pakistan (M.A.)
| | - Adil Naseer
- Department of Gastroenterology, Ayub Medical College, Main Mansehra Road, Abbottabad 22020, Pakistan;
| | - Arshid Pervez
- Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Abbottabad Campus, University Road, Tobe Camp, Abbottabad 22010, Pakistan;
| | - Muhammad Asad
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Sahiwal Campus, Sahiwal 55000, Pakistan (M.A.)
| | - Aamer Ali Shah
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; (A.F.); (A.A.S.); (F.H.)
| | - Fariha Hasan
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; (A.F.); (A.A.S.); (F.H.)
| | - Wadi B. Alonazi
- Health Administration Department, College of Business Administration, King Saud University, Riyadh 11587, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Ifra Ferheen
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy;
| | - Samiullah Khan
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; (A.F.); (A.A.S.); (F.H.)
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Sarker P, Mitro A, Hoque H, Hasan MN, Nurnabi Azad Jewel GM. Identification of potential novel therapeutic drug target against Elizabethkingia anophelis by integrative pan and subtractive genomic analysis: An in silico approach. Comput Biol Med 2023; 165:107436. [PMID: 37690289 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.107436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Elizabethkingia anophelis is a human pathogen responsible for severe nosocomial infections in neonates and immunocompromised patients. The significantly higher mortality rate from E. anophelis infections and the lack of available regimens highlight the critical need to explore novel drug targets. The current study investigated effective novel drug targets by employing a comprehensive in silico subtractive genomic approach integrated with pangenomic analysis of E. anophelis strains. A total of 2809 core genomic proteins were found by pangenomic analysis of non-paralogous proteins. Subsequently, 156 pathogen-specific, 442 choke point, 202 virulence factor, 53 antibiotic resistant and 119 host-pathogen interacting proteins were identified in E. anophelis. By subtractive genomic approach, at first 791 proteins were found to be indispensable for the survival of E. anophelis. 558 and 315 proteins were detected as non-homologous to human and gut microflora respectively. Following that 245 cytoplasmic, 245 novel, and 23 broad-spectrum targets were selected and finally four proteins were considered as potential therapeutic targets of E. anophelis based on highest degree score in PPI network. Among those, three proteins were subjected to molecular docking and subsequent MD simulation as one protein did not contain a plausible binding pocket with sufficient surface area and volume. All the complexes were found to be stable and compact in 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation studies as measured by RMSD, RMSF, and Rg. These three short-listed targets identified in this study may lead to the development of novel antimicrobials capable of curing infections and pave the way to prevent and control the disease progression caused by the deadly agent E. anophelis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parth Sarker
- Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, University Ave, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh; Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Lab, Dept. of GEB, SUST, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
| | - Arnob Mitro
- Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, University Ave, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh; Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Lab, Dept. of GEB, SUST, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
| | - Hammadul Hoque
- Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, University Ave, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
| | - Md Nazmul Hasan
- Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, University Ave, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
| | - G M Nurnabi Azad Jewel
- Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, University Ave, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh; Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Lab, Dept. of GEB, SUST, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh.
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Ibrahim KA, El-Ashrey MK, Kashef MT, Helmy OM. Alanine racemase a promising Helicobacter pylori drug target inhibited by propanoic acid. Microbes Infect 2023; 25:105167. [PMID: 37271368 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2023.105167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Eradication of Helicobacter pylori, the class 1 carcinogen, faces several obstacles, which demand alternative options to conventional drug development methods. Alanine racemase (Alr) was proposed as H. pylori drug target, inhibited by propanoic acid (PA), in a previous in silico study. We investigated the possible treatment of H. pylori infection through Alr inhibition. A new model of H. pylori Alr was built, validated, and the binding of PA to the active site was modelled via molecular docking with a good docking score. PA minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against H. pylori ATCC 43504 and six H. pylori clinical isolates ranged from 312.5 to 416.7 ± 180 μg/ml and remained unchanged after 14 serial passages in increasing PA concentrations. The minimum bactericidal concentration of PA was 625 μg/ml. Selective Alr inhibition was confirmed by a significant PA MIC increase with increasing d-alanine concentrations. Similar PA MIC in other tested pathogens was recorded (312.5-625 μg/ml). PA lacked cytotoxicity in tested cell lines and efficiently eradicated H. pylori in a rat infection model. In conclusion, Alr is a promising broad-spectrum drug target, inhibited by PA without resistance development by repeated exposure for 14 serial passages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kareem A Ibrahim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian Russian University, Suez Road, Cairo, 11829, Egypt
| | - Mohamed K El-Ashrey
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr Elini St., Cairo, 11562, Egypt; Medicinal Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Salman International University, Ras-Sedr, South Sinai, Egypt
| | - Mona T Kashef
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt.
| | - Omneya M Helmy
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt
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Ibrahim KA, Kashef MT, Elkhamissy TR, Ramadan MA, Helmy OM. Aspartate α-decarboxylase a new therapeutic target in the fight against Helicobacter pylori infection. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1019666. [DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1019666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective eradication therapy for Helicobacter pylori is a worldwide demand. Aspartate α-decarboxylase (ADC) was reported as a drug target in H. pylori, in an in silico study, with malonic acid (MA) as its inhibitor. We evaluated eradicating H. pylori infection through ADC inhibition and the possibility of resistance development. MA binding to ADC was modeled via molecular docking. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of MA were determined against H. pylori ATCC 43504, and a clinical H. pylori isolate. To confirm selective ADC inhibition, we redetermined the MIC in the presence of products of the inhibited enzymatic pathway: β-alanine and pantothenate. HPLC was used to assay the enzymatic activity of H. pylori 6x-his tagged ADC in the presence of different MA concentrations. H. pylori strains were serially exposed to MA for 14 passages, and the MICs were determined. Cytotoxicity in different cell lines was tested. The efficiency of ADC inhibition in treating H. pylori infections was evaluated using a Sprague–Dawley (SD) rat infection model. MA spectrum of activity was determined in different pathogens. MA binds to H. pylori ADC active site with a good docking score. The MIC of MA against H. pylori ranged from 0.5 to 0.75 mg/mL with MBC of 1.5 mg/mL. Increasing β-alanine and pantothenate concentrations proportionally increased MA MIC. The 6x-his tagged ADC activity decreased by increasing MA concentration. No resistance to ADC inhibition was recorded after 14 passages; MA lacked cytotoxicity in all tested cell lines. ADC inhibition effectively eradicated H. pylori infection in SD rats. MA had MIC between 0.625 to 1.25 mg/mL against the tested bacterial pathogens. In conclusion, ADC is a promising target for effectively eradicating H. pylori infection that is not affected by resistance development, besides being of broad-spectrum presence in different pathogens. MA provides a lead molecule for the development of an anti-helicobacter ADC inhibitor. This provides hope for saving the lives of those at high risk of infection with the carcinogenic H. pylori.
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Subtractive proteomic analysis for identification of potential drug targets and vaccine candidates against Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243. INFORMATICS IN MEDICINE UNLOCKED 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.imu.2022.101127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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Shaker B, Ahmad S, Lee J, Jung C, Na D. In silico methods and tools for drug discovery. Comput Biol Med 2021; 137:104851. [PMID: 34520990 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
In the past, conventional drug discovery strategies have been successfully employed to develop new drugs, but the process from lead identification to clinical trials takes more than 12 years and costs approximately $1.8 billion USD on average. Recently, in silico approaches have been attracting considerable interest because of their potential to accelerate drug discovery in terms of time, labor, and costs. Many new drug compounds have been successfully developed using computational methods. In this review, we briefly introduce computational drug discovery strategies and outline up-to-date tools to perform the strategies as well as available knowledge bases for those who develop their own computational models. Finally, we introduce successful examples of anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-cancer drug discoveries that were made using computational methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilal Shaker
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea
| | - Sajjad Ahmad
- Department of Health and Biological Sciences, Abasyn University, Peshawar, 25000, Pakistan
| | - Jingyu Lee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea
| | - Chanjin Jung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea
| | - Dokyun Na
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea.
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Anis Ahamed N, Panneerselvam A, Arif IA, Syed Abuthakir MH, Jeyam M, Ambikapathy V, Mostafa AA. Identification of potential drug targets in human pathogen Bacillus cereus and insight for finding inhibitor through subtractive proteome and molecular docking studies. J Infect Public Health 2021; 14:160-168. [PMID: 33422858 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus cereus is a gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium related to food poisoning in humans. Vomit and diarrhea are the symptoms of foodborne B. cereus infection caused by emetic toxins and three enterotoxins, respectively. This bacterium is broadly present in soil and foods such as vegetables, spices, milk, and meat. The antibiotics impenem, vancomycin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and ciprofloxacin are used for all susceptible strains of B. cereus. But these antibiotics cause side effects in the host due to the drug-host interaction; because the targeted proteins by the drugs are not pathogen specific proteins, they are similar to human proteins also. To overcome this problem, this study focused on identifying putative drug targets in the pathogen B. cereus and finding new drugs to inhibit the function of the pathogen. The identification of drug targets is a pipeline process, starting with the identification of targets non-homologous to human and gutmicrobiota proteins, finding essential proteins, finding other proteins that highly interact with these essential proteins that are also highly important for protein network stability, finding cytoplasmic proteins with a clear pathway and known molecular function, and finding non-druggable proteins. Through this process, two novel drug targets were identified in B. cereus. Among the various antibiotics, Gentamicin had showed good binding affinity with the identified novel targets through molecular modeling and docking studies using Prime and GLIDE module of Schrödinger. Hence, this study suggest that the identified novel drug targets may very useful in drug therapeutic field for finding inhibitors which are similar to Gentamicin and designing new formulation of drug molecules to control the function of the foodborne illness causing pathogen B. cereus.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Anis Ahamed
- Prince Sultan Research Chair for Environment and Wildlife, Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Sciences, King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Sciences, King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous), Poondi, Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Thanjavur 620024, India.
| | - A Panneerselvam
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous), Poondi, Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Thanjavur 620024, India
| | - Ibrahim A Arif
- Prince Sultan Research Chair for Environment and Wildlife, Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Sciences, King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Sciences, King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Muthusamy Jeyam
- Biochematics Lab, Department of Bioinformatics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India
| | - V Ambikapathy
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous), Poondi, Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Thanjavur 620024, India
| | - Ashraf A Mostafa
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Sciences, King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Kaur H, Kalia M, Singh V, Modgil V, Mohan B, Taneja N. In silico identification and characterization of promising drug targets in highly virulent uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073 by protein-protein interaction network analysis. INFORMATICS IN MEDICINE UNLOCKED 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.imu.2021.100704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
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