IUPHAR Database

The IUPHAR database (IUPHAR-DB) is an online, open access resource developed by NC-IUPHAR, the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Committee on Receptor Nomenclature and Drug Classification, consisting of expert-driven, manually curated pharmacological information on a range of drug targets, namely G protein-coupled receptors, voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels, nuclear receptors and enzymes. Annotation is provided on the pharmacological, physiological and genetic properties of the human, mouse and rat receptors, alongside curation of the substances that act on them. IUPHAR-DB is now in its tenth year.

NC-IUPHAR
NC-IUPHAR acts as the scientific advisory and editorial board for the database. Its network of over 700 specialist advisors (organised into ~60 subcommittees) contribute expertise and data.

Content and Features
In addition to biological targets, the IUPHAR database includes chemical and nomenclature information on ~4000 ligands, including small organic molecules and peptides. Features on the site include Hot Topic news items, advanced search tools and structure-based chemical searching.

The Guide to PHARMACOLOGY
The IUPHAR database is available through the website Guide to PHARMACOLOGY, an online portal from which users can access data from the IUPHAR database and the Guide to Receptors and Channels (GRAC) 5th edition. The Guide to PHARMACOLOGY consists of two views of the data included in the portal: a concise view consisting of information on a wide range of targets, curated from GRAC 5th edition, and a detailed view incorporating data from IUPHAR-DB, allowing users to view in-depth information on a selected set of these targets. The development and release of the website is described in an editorial published in the British Journal of Pharmacology entitled 'Guide to Pharmacology.org- an update'.

Future directions
Following funding from the Wellcome Trust, IUPHAR-DB and the Guide to PHARMACOLOGY are being expanded to include the biological targets of all prescription drugs and other likely targets of future small molecule drugs, with Guide to PHARMACOLOGY providing overviews of the key features of a wide range of targets and IUPHAR-DB continuing to provide detailed information on the properties of a selected subset of targets.