📄 Category

pharmacology and toxicology

77 papers

Pharmacology and toxicology explore how substances interact with living systems, ranging from the development of life-saving medicines to understanding the dangers of chemical exposure. This field sits at the critical intersection of chemistry and biology, asking essential questions about how drugs work, how the body processes them, and what happens when things go wrong. It is a dynamic area where researchers constantly strive to improve patient safety while discovering new therapeutic possibilities.

At Gist.Science, we bridge the gap between complex research and public understanding by curating the latest preprints from bioRxiv in this vital category. Our team processes every new submission from bioRxiv as it appears, transforming dense scientific data into both plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries. This ensures that whether you are a specialist or a curious reader, you can grasp the significance of these emerging findings without getting lost in jargon.

Below are the most recent pharmacology and toxicology papers from bioRxiv, each accompanied by our expert analysis to help you navigate the latest scientific breakthroughs.

📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Nephrotoxicity of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Mice with a Human Immune System

This study demonstrates that a human immune system tumor-bearing mouse model treated with nivolumab and ipilimumab reproducibly recapitulates human ICI-induced nephrotoxicity, revealing that renal injury is driven by CD4+ T-cell enrichment and specific immune protein shifts rather than traditional biomarkers, thereby validating this platform for mechanistic investigation and therapeutic testing.

Asby, S., Wen, X., Goedken, M., Ames, B., Shams, S., Thompson, L., Lanis, J., Kostka-Newman, Z., Larsen, K., Tilden, S. (…)2026-05-12
📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Systematic toxicological study of PFOS/PFOA co-exposure driving prostate cancer: Core target identification, TME immune remodeling, and combination drug prediction

This study employs an integrative computational framework combining network pharmacology, machine learning, and ODE kinetic modeling to demonstrate that co-exposure to PFOS and PFOA drives prostate cancer progression by disrupting the androgen receptor axis, activating the PI3K-AKT pathway, and remodeling the tumor microenvironment into an immunosuppressive state, while identifying a synergistic drug combination of enzalutamide and Alpelisib as a potential therapeutic intervention.

PAN, J., ZHANG, Y., YANG, A., JIANG, L., SHEN, Y., SUN, Y., ZHU, J., FAN, M., SHI, J.2026-05-12
📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Virtual screening and zebrafish phenotype-based evaluation argues against repurposing 4-phenylbutyrate for STXBP1-relateddisorders

Despite promising results in C. elegans models, this study demonstrates that 4-phenylbutyrate and AI-identified analogs fail to rescue locomotion deficits or reduce seizure activity in STXBP1-deficient zebrafish, arguing against their repurposing for treating STXBP1-related disorders.

Frick, A., Whyte-Fagundes, P. C., Baraban, S. C.2026-05-12
📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Acute inflammation-mediated attenuation of behavioural sensitization in methamphetamine-sensitized mice via distinct COX-2 and TNF-α pathways

This study demonstrates that acute inflammation, induced by either lipopolysaccharides or restraint stress, suppresses methamphetamine-induced behavioral sensitization in mice through distinct COX-2 and TNF-α pathways, respectively, offering new insights into how mild inflammation may alleviate positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Shinohara, R. C., Ishikawa, S., Matsumoto, R., Ito, K., Tonosaki, M., Matsuyama, S., Ohgidani, M., Koga, M., Hashimoto (…)2026-05-12
📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Sex-specific amplification of IKr-blocker-induced action potential prolongation by reduced female IKs repolarization reserve: a computational study using the O'Hara-Rudy human ventricular model

Using a computational model of human ventricular cardiomyocytes, this study demonstrates that a 45% reduction in female IKs conductance significantly amplifies the action potential prolongation caused by IKr blockade compared to males, providing a quantitative ionic basis for the higher susceptibility of women to drug-induced Torsades de Pointes.

Magesh Raghavan, T. A.2026-05-11
📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Lysophosphatidic Acid (LPA) Salivary Species Detection and Whole-mount LPA Receptor Localization in Mouse Salivary Gland

This study demonstrates that *Porphyromonas gingivalis*-induced periodontal disease triggers a significant increase in salivary lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) levels in mice, mirroring human findings, and identifies the widespread expression of LPA1, LPA3, and the novel LPA4 receptors in mouse salivary glands, highlighting the critical role of LPA signaling in gland biology and its implications for autoimmune and pharmacological research.

Cerutis, D. R., Kumar, D., Nichols, M. G., Roemer, G. R., Fluent, M. E., Miyamoto, T., Alnouti, Y.2026-05-01
📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Otenabant is a Selective Antagonist of Human PIEZO1

Through a high-throughput screen of FDA-approved drugs, researchers identified Otenabant, a selective cannabinoid receptor antagonist, as a potent and species-specific inhibitor of human PIEZO1 channels that effectively restores red blood cell deformability, offering a promising chemical scaffold for developing therapies for PIEZO1-related disorders.

Jaquet, V., Penttinen, R., Rodriguez, G., Castelbou, C., Cambet, Y., Rosa, N., Bourdin, M., Asghariastanehei, B., de Lim (…)2026-04-30
📄 pharmacology and toxicology

Derivation and theoretical validation of fractional quasi-steady state approximation (fQSSA) for target-mediated drug disposition models with memory effects

This paper introduces a fractional quasi-steady-state approximation (fQSSA) for target-mediated drug disposition models to address memory effects and parameter identifiability challenges, deriving a rigorous validity condition and demonstrating its utility through successful application to recombinant human erythropoietin data.

Byun, J. H., Park, I., Yun, H.-y., Kim, J. K.2026-04-29