Editorial [Hot Topic: Carbohydrate Mimetics as Potential Drug Candidates]

Abstract

Mimics of oligosaccharides capable of interfering with lectin activity are currently being pursued by a number of groups in an effort to produce tools for glycobiology and to design antagonists of medically relevant lectins. The field is reviewed in this chapter. After a brief overview of the state of the art, examples from our and others' studies on the dendritic cell receptor DC-SIGN are illustrated.

Carbohydrate-based drugs launched during 2000−2021

“…Since 2000, great progresses have been achieved in the fields of carbohydrate chemistry 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , glycobiology 22 , 23 , and chemical glycobiology 24 , 25 , bringing numerous opportunities for carbohydrate-based drug discovery 26 , 27 , 28 . A number of innovative carbohydrate-based drugs were designed, evaluated, and developed in the past twenty years 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 . For example, with a new mechanism of action, the sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors bring great benefits to the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, not only in blood glucose control, but also in kidney and heart functions 34 , 35 .…”