Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 13, Issue 29, 2006

Clinical studies have shown that HER-2/Neu is over-expressed in up to one-third of patients with a variety of cancers, including B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), breast cancer and lung cancer, and that these patients are frequently resistant to conventional chemo-therapies. Additionally, in most patients with multiple myeloma, the malignant cells over-express a number of epidermal growth factor receptors (E Read More

One of the earliest descriptions of non-neuronal ACh synthesis was by Morris who reported that ACh was synthesized in the placenta [1]; furthermore, Falugi et al. showed the presence of AChE in human fibrosarcoma cells [2]. Afterward, the expression of ACh, AChE, and cholinergic receptors in non-neuronal cells was reported in several studies [3-16]. Indeed, recent data reported that SCLC expresses a cholinergic a Read More

Galectins form a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins defined by their affinity for β-galactosides containing glycoconjugates. The carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) is responsible for the specificity of galectins for saccharides. This binding may result in modulated cell proliferation, cell death and cell migration, three processes that are intimately involved in cancer initiation and progression. Galectins can also display pro Read More

Viral infections have menaced human beings since time immemorial, and even today new viral strains that cause lethal diseases are being discovered with alarming frequency. One major example is HIV, the etiological agent of AIDS, which spread up in the last two decades. Very recently, other virus based diseases such as avian flu have spread fear around the world, and hemorrhagic fevers from central Africa se Read More

Retinoic acid (RA) and its natural and synthetic derivatives (retinoids) are important dietary factors which regulate cellular differentiation and growth, so that they are thought to be particularly effective at preventing the development of several tumours. They play this role as ligands of the RAR and RXR nuclear retinoic acid receptors, including the RA receptor isoforms alpha, beta, and gamma. These ligand-activated nuclea Read More

Acute ischemic stroke causes a disturbance of neuronal circuitry and disruption of the blood-brainbarrier that can lead to functional disabilities. At present, thrombolytic therapy inducing recanalization of the occluded vessels in the cerebral infarcted area is a commonly used therapeutic strategy. However, only a minority of patients have timely access to this kind of therapy. Therefore, finding other techniques to effectivel Read More

Progesterone is present in a wide spectrum of biological activity within a variety of tissues. This hormone is also known to affect reproduction, sleep quality, respiration, mood, appetite, learning, memory and sexual activity. Progesterone exerts a sleep induction or hypnotic effect and is a potent respiratory stimulant that has been associated to a decrease in the number of central and obstructive sleep apnea episodes in men. The Read More

The accurate prediction of ligand-biopolymer binding affinities is of general interest to medicinal chemistry, as well as to the broader field of molecular recognition. The ability to predict computationally the thermodynamics of these molecular recognition processes has been relatively weak until recently, however, continued developments on several fronts are extending the scope of applicability of these methods. The r Read More