Drug Repurposing for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Analyzing Networks Among Drugs, Diseases, and Genes

Background/Objectives: Drug development for complex diseases such as NAFLD is often lengthy and expensive. Drug repurposing, the process of finding new therapeutic uses for existing drugs, presents a promising alternative to traditional approaches. This study aims to identify potential repurposed dr...

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Main Authors: Md. Altaf-Ul-Amin, Ahmad Kamal Nasution, Rumman Mahfujul Islam, Pei Gao, Naoaki Ono, Shigehiko Kanaya
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Metabolites
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/4/255
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Summary:Background/Objectives: Drug development for complex diseases such as NAFLD is often lengthy and expensive. Drug repurposing, the process of finding new therapeutic uses for existing drugs, presents a promising alternative to traditional approaches. This study aims to identify potential repurposed drugs for NAFLD by leveraging disease–disease relationships and drug–target data from the BioSNAP database. Methods: A bipartite network was constructed between drugs and their target genes, followed by the application of the BiClusO bi-clustering algorithm to identify high-density clusters. Clusters with significant associations with NAFLD risk genes were considered to predict potential drug candidates. Another set of candidates was determined based on disease similarity. Results: A novel ranking methodology was developed to evaluate and prioritize these candidates, supported by a comprehensive literature review of their effectiveness in NAFLD treatment. Conclusions: This research demonstrates the potential of drug repurposing to accelerate the development of therapies for NAFLD, offering valuable insights into novel treatment strategies for complex diseases.
ISSN:2218-1989