Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 14, Issue 19, 2007

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt (protein kinase B, PKB)/mammalian Target Of Rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway plays a critical role in many cellular functions which are elicited by extracellular stimuli. However, constitutively active PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling has also been firmly established as a major determinant for cell growth, proliferation, and survival in an wide array of human cancers. Thus, blocking the PI3 Read More

A tremendous interest exists in the Western world in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with rapidly increasing export rates of TCM products from China to Europe and USA. This led to a national decision of the Chinese government to implement a “Plan for the Modernization of Chinese Medicine”. Concerning the use of Chinese medicinal herbs, two major directions can be distinguished. One field is phytochemistry and p Read More

DNA gyrase is an attractive and well established target for the development of antibacterial agents. This bacterial enzyme, whose biological function is to control the topological state of DNA molecules, consists of two catalytic subunits; GyrA is responsible for DNA breakage and reunion, while the subunit GyrB contains the ATP-binding site. Coumarins and cyclothialidines are natural products that inhibit the ATPase activity Read More

Autoimmune diseases are thought to arise as a detrimental combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Because of their potential for direct cellular damage and causing extensive inflammation, viruses are one of the major candidates for triggering autoimmunity. Although there is epidemiological evidence, direct proof for viruses as causative agents for autoimmune disease is hard to get since mo Read More

Variants at the gene encoding for the 5-hydrosytryptamine (serotonin) receptor 2A (HTR2A) have been associated with many psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, mood disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, suicide, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and Alzheimer's disease. The studied SNPs differ across studies, in the present review we focused on available evidence with t Read More

Omega-3 fatty acids (Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids or PUFA n-3) have been initially found to reduce plasma levels of triglycerides and to increase levels of high-density lipoprotein in patients with marked hypertriglyceridemia. However, in both bench research studies and clinical trials, omega-3 fatty acid intake has recently been associated with an anti-arrhythmic efficacy. At experimental level, n-3 PUFA administration produces Read More

Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic disease characterized by hepatic inflammation and obliterative fibrosis, resulting in both intra- and extra-hepatic bile duct strictures. End-stage liver disease and bile duct carcinoma represent frequent complications. Incidence and prevalence of PSC in USA have been recently estimated as 0.9 per 100,000 person-years, and 1-6 per 100,000 person-years, respectivel Read More

The maximum therapeutic potentials of pharmacologically active molecules are generally not attained due to their non specific delivery. Ligands associated with drug or delivery system through which it is delivered provide navigation and direction to the carrier system(s) so as to reach and release bioactive(s) at the desired site of action in a optimum therapeutic concentration vis a vis minimizing the undesired side effects a Read More