Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 17, Issue 19, 2010

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a glycoprotein that belongs to the superfamily of serine protease inhibitors with a potent neuronal differentiating activity. Recently, PEDF is found to be a highly effective inhibitor of pathological angiogenesis in both cell culture and animal models. Further, it has also been shown to have neuroprotective, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, any of which could potentially Read More

A fundamental step in preclinical drug development is the computation of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models, i.e. models that link chemical features of compounds with activities towards a target macromolecule associated with the initiation or progression of a disease. QSAR models are computed by combining information on the physicochemical and structural features of a library of congeneric compo Read More

Among several types of DNA lesions, the DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are one of the most deleterious and harmful. Mammalian cells mount a coordinated response to DSBs with the aim of appropriately repair the DNA damage. Indeed, failure of the DNA damage response (DDR) can lead to the development of cancer-prone genetic diseases. The identification and development of drugs targeting proteins involved in the DD Read More

Background: Proprotein Convertases (PCs) or Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexins (PCSKs) belong to a family of calcium-dependent endoproteases that are structurally related to bacterial subtilisin and yeast kexin. These enzymes play major roles in the processing of inactive precursor proteins producing their bioactive mature forms that are implicated in a wide variety of diseases including cancer, viral and b Read More

Protein C is a vitamin K-dependent anticoagulant serine protease zymogen in plasma which upon activation by the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex down-regulates the coagulation cascade by degrading cofactors Va and VIIIa by limited proteolysis. In addition to its anticoagulant function, activated protein C (APC) also binds to endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) in lipid-rafts/caveolar compartments to activate pr Read More

During the last 20 years, numerous clinical trials have examined the therapeutic usefulness of melatonin in different fields of medicine. The objective of this article is to review, in depth, the science regarding clinical trials performed to date. The efficacy of melatonin has been assessed as a treatment of ocular diseases, blood diseases, gastrointestinal tract diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, fi Read More

Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic value of pleural fluid TNF-α and IL-10 levels in tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) and compare with that of ADA. Material and Methods: 70 patients were enrolled in the study. Fourteen patients had TPE, 19 patients malignant pleural effusion (MPE), 18 patients complicated parapneumonic effusion (PPE) and 19 patients had transudative pleural effusion. Results: The pleural flui Read More