Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 12, Issue 4, 2005

Helicobacter pylori infection has been indicated as the main pathogenic factor in the development of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric malignancies. Although the vast majority of infected subjects do not carry but a mild, asymptomatic gastritis, still there are some cases in which the eradication of the infection appears mandatory. This review addresses current anti-Helicobacter regimens and pharmacologic Read More

Over the past decade, 11 human genes belonging to the solute linked carrier (SLC) 26 family of transporters, have been identified. The SLC26 proteins, which include SAT-1, DTDST, DRA / CLD, pendrin, prestin, PAT-1 / CFEX and Tat-1, are structurally related and have been shown to transport one or more of the following substrates: sulfate, chloride, bicarbonate, iodide, oxalate, formate, hydroxyl or fructose. Special i Read More

Recent developments in the field of haemostasis and thrombosis highlighted the crucial role of the tissue factor / factor VIIa complex (TF / FVIIa) in the initiation of coagulation processes. Nowadays, anticoagulant therapies involving heparin or coumarin derivatives, thrombin or factor Xa inhibitors are generally associated with side effects such as bleeding and thrombocytopenia. In this context, the inhibition of TF, FVIIa an Read More

The aminocoumarin antibiotics novobiocin, clorobiocin and coumermycin A1 are produced by different Streptomyces strains and are potent inhibitors of DNA gyrase. The biosynthetic gene clusters of all three antibiotics have been cloned and sequenced, and the function of most genes contained therein has been elucidated. In the last years, a number of “unnatural” aminocoumarins could be generated using the geneti Read More

It has long been considered that mitochondrial DNA disease is a rare genetic disorder causing neuromyopathy. However, alterations of mitochondrial DNA recently have been recognized to play an important role in the pathogenesis of so-called common diseases such as heart failure, diabetes, and cancer. Although some of these alterations are inherited, more and more attention is being focused on the accum Read More

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common condition associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. It follows that PAD merits aggressive preventive treatment that includes lipid lowering drugs (mainly statins). This review summarises the current knowledge concerning the use and mechanisms of action of statins in patients with PAD. Statins not only lower the risk of vascul Read More

During the past five years, several members of the KCNQ potassium channel gene family have been identified with a high degree of CNS specificity. Within the KCNQ family, the combination of the KCNQ2 / KCNQ3 proteins, and the KCNQ5 / KCNQ3 arrangement has been identified as the molecular correlates of the different M-currents. Several lines of evidence are emerging demonstrating the importance of these channe Read More

Conventional insecticides are highly toxic to many living organisms as well as to the environment; consequently, new biorational and more specific approaches to pest control have been developed. In this paper, we present an update of those approaches resulting from studies on inhibition of enzymes involved in key processes of insects life, particularly growth, molting and development of larvae and intraspecific communicati Read More

The discovery of endogenous opioid peptides with their limited receptor selectivity more than two decades ago implicated their involvement in analgesia and initiated efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying their action. Opioid peptides mediate their physiological and pharmacological effects through three major opioid receptor types (μ, δ, κ), but the role of each of these receptors is not easy to disting Read More

Chalcone is a unique template that is associated with several biological activities. In this review, an update of the cytotoxic and chemoprotective activities of chalcones is provided. Cytotoxicity against tumour cell lines may be the result of disruption of the cell cycle, inhibition of angiogenesis, interference with p53- MDM2 interaction, mitochondrial uncoupling or induction of apoptosis. Structural requirements for cytotoxic activi Read More