Browsing by Author "Barrera, Nelson P."
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- ItemHow far are we from predicting multi-drug interactions during treatment for COVID-19 infection?(WILEY, 2022) Lozano, Benjamin; Santibanez, Javier; Severino, Nicolas; Saldias, Cristina; Vera, Magdalena; Retamal, Jaime; Torres, Soledad; Barrera, Nelson P.Seriously ill patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs) are commonly given a combination of drugs, a process known as multi-drug treatment. After extracting data on drug-drug interactions with clinical relevance from available online platforms, we hypothesize that an overall interaction map can be generated for all drugs administered. Furthermore, by combining this approach with simulations of cellular biochemical pathways, we may be able to explain the general clinical outcome. Finally, we postulate that by applying this strategy retrospectively to a cohort of patients hospitalized in ICU, a prediction of the timing of developing acute kidney injury (AKI) could be made. Whether or not this approach can be extended to other diseases is uncertain. Still, we believe it represents a valuable pharmacological insight to help improve clinical outcomes for severely ill patients.
- ItemMass Spectrometry-From Peripheral Proteins to Membrane Motors(ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2012) Morgner, Nina; Montenegro, Felipe; Barrera, Nelson P.; Robinson, Carol V.That membrane protein complexes could survive in the gas phase had always seemed impossible. The lack of chargeable residues, high hydrophobicity, and poor solubility and the vast excess of detergent contributed to the view that it would not be possible to obtain mass spectra of intact membrane complexes. With the recent success in recording mass spectra of these complexes, first from recombinant sources and later from the cellular environment, many surprising properties of these gas phase membrane complexes have been revealed. The first of these was that the interactions between membrane and soluble subunits could survive in vacuum, without detergent molecules adhering to the complex. The second unexpected feature was that their hydrophobicity and, consequently, lower charge state did not preclude ionization. The final surprising finding was that these gas phase membrane complexes carry with them lipids, bound specifically in subunit interfaces. This provides us with an opportunity to distinguish annular lipids that surround the membrane complexes, from structural lipids that have a role in maintaining structure and subunit interactions. In this perspective, we track these developments and suggest explanations for the various discoveries made during this research. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.