Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 14, Issue 12, 2007

Interferons (IFNs) are a family of pleiotropic cytokines that typically exhibit antiviral, antiproliferative, antitumor, and immunomodulatory properties. While their complex mechanisms of action remain unclear, IFNs are used clinically in the treatment of viral infections, such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C, and remain the primary treatment for a limited number of malignancies, such as melanoma, hairy cell leukemia, and Read More

The vitamin B6-derived pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) is the cofactor of enzymes catalyzing a large variety of chemical reactions mainly involved in amino acid metabolism. These enzymes have been divided in five families and fold types on the basis of evolutionary relationships and protein structural organization. Almost 1.5% of all genes in prokaryotes code for PLP-dependent enzymes, whereas the percentage is substantia Read More

The natural history and pathogenic processes of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are complex, variable, and dependent upon a multitude of viral and host factors and their interactions. The CCR5-Δ32 allele remains the most important genetic factor known to be associated with host resistance to the HIV-1 infection. However, other mutations in the CCR5, CCR2, CX3CR1, CXCL12 (SDF1), and Read More

Pulmonary delivery of insulin is more than a promise in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Inhaled insulin seems at least as efficacious as the conventional regimen of subcutaneous insulin and/or oral glucose-lowering agents in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Improved metabolic control and the use of a non-invasive route of administration represent the main benefits of this new treatment. Several physico-chemic Read More

Since the publication of the review by Li and Dias in 1997, which covered almost all steroid dimers known to us until the early part of 1997, there have been significant amounts of work carried out on steroid dimers, and another review on this topic has long been overdue. Thus, this review presents a comprehensive review of literature published over the last decade on various aspects of steroid dimers, including synthesis a Read More

Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, one of the most popular and valued herbs, has been used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. More than thirty ginsenosides, the pharmacologically active ingredients in ginseng, have been identified with various sugar moieties attached at the C-3, C-6 and C-20 positions of the steroidal skeleton. We herein review the current literature on the pharmacological effects of gin Read More