Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 13, Issue 17, 2006

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a cell-bound receptor of the immunoglobulin superfamily which may be activated by a variety of proinflammatory ligands including advanced glycoxidation end products, S100/calgranulins, high mobility group box 1, and amyloid β-peptide. RAGE has a secretory splice isoform, soluble RAGE (sRAGE), that lacks the transmembrane domain and therefore circulates in p Read More

The existence of an immune-endocrine interaction has been reported and the modulatory effects of the natural occurring catecholamines epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine as well as of pharmaceutically generated catecholamines like dopexamine on a wide variety of immune functions were demonstrated. Furthermore, it was noticed that these effects are mediated by specific adrenergic and dopaminergic rec Read More

The peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) initially characterised as a high affinity binding site for diazepam, is densely distributed in most peripheral organs whilst only moderately expressed in the healthy brain. The predominant cell type expressing the PBR at regions of central nervous system (CNS) pathology are activated microglial cells. Under neuroinflammatory conditions there is an over-expression of PBR Read More

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by SARSCoV. In the 2003 outbreak, it infected more than 8,000 people worldwide and claimed the lives of more than 900 victims. The high mortality rate resulted, at least in part, from the absence of definitive treatment protocols or therapeutic agents. Although the virus spreading has been contained, due preparedness and planning, Read More

The review provides a detailed discussion of recent advances in the medicinal chemistry of camptothecin, a potent antitumor agent that targets topoisomerase I. Thousands of CPT derivatives have been synthesized. Two of them, Topotecan and Irinotecan, are commercially approved for use in clinic as antitumor agents while more are still in clinic trials. This review summarizes the current status of the modern synthetic appro Read More

The increasing demand for new lead compounds in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries has driven scientists to search for new sources of bioactive natural products. Marine invertebrates are a rich source of novel, bioactive secondary metabolites and they have attracted a great deal of attention from scientists in the fields of chemistry, pharmacology, ecology, and molecular biology. During the past 25 years, man Read More