Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 15, Issue 14, 2008

DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) are important regulators of gene transcription and their roles in carcinogenesis have been a topic of considerable interest in the last few years. Diverse classes of chemical compounds including nucleotide analogues, adenosine analogues, aminobenzoic derivatives, polyphenols, hydrazines, phthalides, disulfides and antisenses are being discovered and evaluated as DNMT inhibitors targeti Read More

The methylhydrazine derivative Procarbazine (PCZ) as monotherapy or in combination with CCNU and vincristine (PCV) was evaluated in a vast number of clinical trials and is still used in patients with high-grade and low-grade gliomas. The compound is an antineoplastic agent with multiple sites of action. It inhibits incorporation of small DNA precursors, as well as RNA and protein synthesis. PCZ can also directly damage DNA Read More

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent proteinases involved in the degradation and remodeling of extracellular matrix proteins that are associated with the tumorigenic process. MMPs promote tumor invasion and metastasis, regulating host defense mechanisms and normal cell function.Thus, MMP inhibitors (MMPIs) are expected to be useful for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, osteoarthritis, Read More

Nitric oxide (NO) produced by endothelial NO synthase (NOS) in low concentrations is a unique messenger molecule with key homeostatic functions concerning the prevention of pathological vascular and tissue changes such as increases in blood pressure, platelet degranulation, mononuclear cell infiltration, cell proliferation and extracellular matrix protein accumulation. This is in contrast to high levels of NO derived from induc Read More

Currently, growth factors which have been identified in hematopoiesis and angiogenesis are re-considered as therapeutical agents in a number of neurological diseases, mainly neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or cerebrovascular events such as stroke. Among these growth factors, erythropoietin (EPO) and granulocyte colony-stimulating growth factor (G-CSF) are the mos Read More

Bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI) are frequently found in the outpatient as well as in the nosocomial setting. The bacterial UTI can be stratified into uncomplicated and complicated UTI. Antibiotic resistance is continuously increasing in uncomplicated as well as complicated UTI. In uncomplicated UTI efforts are made to use antibiotic substances exclusively for this indication. In complicated UTI as broad spectrum an Read More

Cannabinoids in current use such as nabilone activate both CB1 and CB2 receptors. Selective CB2 activation may provide some of the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids, such as their immuno-modulatory properties, without the psychoactive effects of CB1 activation. Therefore, cannabinoid CB2 receptors represent an attractive target for drug development. However, selective and potent CB2 agonists remain in development Read More

Over the last 50 years, increasing evidence has documented the ability of cardiac non-neuronal cells to synthesize and release catecholamines (CAs) and the vasorelaxant natriuretic peptides (NPs), which both regulate cardiovascular homeostasis in health and disease. This knowledge has firmly established the concept of the heart as an endocrine organ. The contents of this frame have been richly expanded by the identific Read More