Immunological Targets in Inflammation from the Small Molecule Perspective

Inflammation and autoimmune disorders have received much greater attention in the recent years due to the elucidation of various molecular mechanisms and the discoveries of various cytokines and other proteins involved in these processes. These discoveries are helping develop novel therapeutics including small molecules and protein therapeutics (biologics) for the treatment of sterile and nonsterile inflammatory disorders. Small molecule drugs have several advantages over protein therapeutics including their affordability for chronic treatments. In this review article, recent successes targeting various inflammatory cytokines and the corresponding receptors such as TLRs, interleukins, p38α as well as recent strategies for developing small molecule antagonists using rational models are discussed.