Academic Editor: Gernot Riedel
Background: Cholecystokinin (CCK) is one of the most abundant peptides
in the central nervous system and is believed to function as a neurotransmitter
as well as a gut hormone with an inverse correlation of its level to anxiety and
depression. Therefore, CCK receptors (CCKRs) could be a relevant target for novel
antidepressant therapy. Methods: In silico target prediction
was first employed to predict the probability of the bromophenols interacting
with key protein targets based on a model trained on known bioactivity data and
chemical similarity considerations. Next, we tested the functional effect of
natural bromophenols from Symphyocladia latiuscula on the CCK