Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 17, Issue 25, 2010

Copper is an essential element for multiple biological processes. Its concentration is elevated to a very high level in cancer tissues for promoting cancer development through processes such as angiogenesis. Organic chelators of copper can passively reduce cellular copper and serve the role as inhibitors of angiogenesis. However, they can also actively attack cellular targets such as proteasome, which plays a critical role in ca Read More

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are key regulators of critical cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, neo-vascularization, and tissue repair. In addition to their importance in the regulation of normal physiology, aberrant expression of certain RTKs has also been associated to the development and progression of many types of cancer. c-Met and RON are two RTKs with closely related sequences, structural hom Read More

Considering that most currently available chemotherapeutic drugs work by inducing cell apoptosis, it is not surprising that many expectations in cancer research come from the therapeutic exploitation of the naturally occurring death pathways. Receptor mediated apoptosis depends upon the engagement of specific ligands with their respective membrane receptors and - within the frame of complex regulatory networks - mod Read More

The importance of organometallics can be noticed by their presence in all life organisms. The most known natural organometallic molecule is vitamin B12, a porphyrin containing a cobalt atom, useful for several enzymatic transformations. Based on the remarkable properties of this class of compounds, a new area of medicinal research was developed. Gerard Jaouen was the first to introduce the term of “bioorganometalli Read More

Enzymes belonging to the PLA2 superfamily catalyze the hydrolysis of unsaturated fatty acids from the sn-2 position of glycerol moiety of neural membrane phospholipids. The PLA2 superfamily is classified into cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2), calcium-independent PLA2 (iPLA2), plasmalogen-selective PLA2 (PlsEtn-PLA2) and secretory PLA2 (sPLA2). PLA2 paralogs/splice variants/isozymes are part of a complex signal transduction netwo Read More

The development of potential neuroprotective therapies for neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease) must be based on understanding their molecular and biochemical pathogenesis. Many potential pathways of neuronal cell death have been implicated in a mouse model of neurodegenerative disease, including excitotoxicity, toxicity from reactive oxygen species (superoxide anion, nitric oxide, hydr Read More

For the development of novel 5-HT4 receptor ligands we have designed and synthesized two series of 5- methoxytryptamine derivatives varying the substitution on the primary amine. Their biological activities were evaluated in a receptor binding assay where a subset of compounds showed comparable potency to the agonists serotonin and 5- methoxytryptamine. Structure-activity analyses have highlighted promising avenu Read More

In order to explore the structure-activity correlation of benzothiadiazine series as inhibitors of genotype 1a HCV polymerase, a set of ligand- and receptor-based 3D-QSAR models were, for the first time, developed in the present work employing Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) and Comparative Molecular Similarity Index Analysis (CoMSIA) for 239 promising molecules. In addition, homology modeling, docking an Read More

Protein kinases represent an attractive target in oncology drug discovery. Most of kinase inhibitors are ATP-competitive and are called type I inhibitors. The ATP-binding pocket is highly conserved among members of the kinase family and it is difficult to find selective agents. Moreover, the ATP-competitive inhibitors must compete with high intracellular ATP levels leading to a discrepancy between IC50s measured by bioche Read More

In this review we discuss the inhibitory effects of dietary polyphenols and amphibian antimicrobial/antitumor peptides on ATP synthase. In the beginning general structural features highlighting catalytic and motor functions of ATP synthase will be described. Some details on the presence of ATP synthase on the surface of several animal cell types, where it is associated with multiple cellular processes making it an interesting Read More