Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 15, Issue 16, 2008

Malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases of our planet which claims millions of lives annually. Plasmodium falciparum is the causative agent of majority of the mortality and morbidity associated with malaria particularly in tropical countries. Resistance of the parasite to the currently available chemotherapeutic agents poses a serious threat to human being. Inhibition of P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) en Read More

cGMP has a short-term effect on smooth muscle tone and a longer-term effect on responses to chronic drug treatment or proliferative signals. cGMP-Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) hydrolizes cGMP, and the result is smooth muscle contraction. PDE5 is a relatively novel therapeutic target of various diseases, such as erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension. The most intensively examined and marketed PDE5 inhibi Read More

Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids) are naturally occurring compounds, ubiquitous in all vascular plants. These compounds have been considered to possess anti-inflammatory properties, both in vitro and in vivo. Although not fully understood, these health-promoting effects have been mainly related to their interactions with several key enzymes, signaling cascades involving cytokines and regulatory transcription factors, and a Read More

Catalytic activity of certain antibodies was proposed by Linus Pauling for the very first time more than six decades ago. Since then few examples of catalytic antibodies (abzymes) were found in human organism. From late 80's many synthetic abzymes were obtained after immunization by Transition State Analogs (TSA). Another approach is based on functional mimicry of antibody to an active site of an enzyme. Detection of Read More

Flos Magnoliae (FM, Chinese name: Xin-yi) is one of the most commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs. It has a long history of clinical use for managing rhinitis, sinusitis and headache. More than 20 different FM species have been used clinically, which makes species identification and evaluation of pharmacological effects of individual chemical ingredients difficult. In this review, we have summarized the current knowle Read More

The progress of research on the molecular pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and the consequent discoveries are likely to open new possibilities for therapeutic approaches to the management of this disease in the future. A key step towards this goal is a deeper comprehension of both the complex molecular and cellular mechanisms and the signaling involved in the development of hepatic fibrosis. It is not yet clear, in fact, Read More

Recent advances have identified the podocyte as a key target in glomerular injury. The podocyte is a highly specialized cell which is responsible for the glomerular permselectivity for proteins in the kidney. Podocyte injury or loss leads to proteinuria. Apoptosis has been shown to contribute to renal cell loss, including loss of podocytes. The most striking feature of the podocyte is its ability to form intricate specialized cell junctio Read More