Choline Kinase: An Unexpected Journey for a Precision Medicine Strategy in Human Diseases Lacal Sanjuán, Juan Carlos Zimmerman, Tahl Campos Rosa, Joaquín María Phospholipids metabolism Choline Kinase (ChoK) Bispyridinium compounds Bisquinolinium compounds QSAR Anticancer drugs Rheumatoid arthritis Parasites Pathogenic bacteria Inflammatory disease This research was funded by CSIC, grant number PIE202020E041; and in part by the NIFA through the Agricultural Research Program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Evans-Allen Program, project number NC.X-291-5-15-170-1). Choline kinase (ChoK) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of choline to form phosphorylcholine (PCho) in the presence of ATP and magnesium. ChoK is required for the synthesis of key membrane phospholipids and is involved in malignant transformation in a large variety of human tumours. Active compounds against ChoK have been identified and proposed as antitumor agents. The ChoK inhibitory and antiproliferative activities of symmetrical bispyridinium and bisquinolinium compounds have been defined using quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs) and structural parameters. The design strategy followed in the development of the most active molecules is presented. The selective anticancer activity of these structures is also described. One promising anticancer compound has even entered clinical trials. Recently, ChoKα inhibitors have also been proposed as a novel therapeutic approach against parasites, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory processes, and pathogenic bacteria. The evidence for ChoKα as a novel drug target for approaches in precision medicine is discussed. 2021-07-12T11:48:58Z 2021-07-12T11:48:58Z 2021-05-25 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Lacal, J.C.; Zimmerman, T.; Campos, J.M. Choline Kinase: An Unexpected Journey for a Precision Medicine Strategy in Human Diseases. Pharmaceutics 2021, 13, 788. [https://10.3390/pharmaceutics13060788] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/69658 10.3390/pharmaceutics13060788 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España MDPI