Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 12, Issue 22, 2005

In the pharmaceutical industry, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the most successful group of therapeutic targets. Finding compounds that interfere with the ligand-GPCR interaction in a specific and selective way is a major focus of pharmaceutical research today. As compound libraries of large pharmaceutical companies have increased to hundreds of thousands of test compounds, there is a growing need for miniaturiz Read More

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a nucleic acid analogue and a fully synthetic DNA/RNA-recognising ligand with a neutral peptide-like backbone. In spite of the large change on the backbone structure, PNA molecules bind strongly to complementary DNA and RNA sequences. Originally conceived as ligand for the recognition of double stranded DNA, the unique physico-chemical properties of PNAs have led to the development of a var Read More

The biology of the mitochondrial electron transport chain is summarized. Our approach to the mechanism of uncouplers, inhibitors, and toxins is based on electron transfer (ET) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Extensive supporting evidence, which is broadly applicable, is cited. ROS can be generated either endogenously or exogenously. Generally, the reactive entities arise via redox cycling by ET functionalities, such as, quin Read More

Envenomations due to snake bites are commonly treated by parenteral administration of horse or sheep-derived polyclonal antivenoms aimed at the neutralization of toxins. However, despite the widespread success of this therapy, it is still important to search for different venom inhibitors, either synthetic or natural, that could complement or substitute for the action of antivenoms. Several plants have been utilized in folk m Read More

Malaria caused by Plasmodium parasites kills approximately 1-3 million people and causes disease in 300-500 million people annually throughout the world. The current approaches to curtail this disease include vector control, vaccination, immunotherapy and chemotherapy. The vector control is achieved by reducing vector density, interrupting their life cycle, and creating a barrier between the human host and mosquitoes. A n Read More