Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 23, Issue 11, 2016

The current lifestyle of “western societies” is based on excessive consumption of high-energy diets and physical inactivity. Such behavior has pressured biological systems towards the development of metabolic diseases. This increased incidence of metabolic disorders is also accompanied by a decline in male reproductive health, particularly among young males. Male fertility is sensitive to metabolic dysfunctions, such as di Read More

Antimitotics binding at the colchicine site of tubulin are important antitumour and vascular disrupting agents. Pyridines and azines are privileged scaffolds in medicinal chemistry and in recent years many colchicine site ligands (CSL) have incorporated them into their structures with the aim of improving their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties. CSL have been classified according to their chemical structures an Read More

The arachidonic acid metabolizing enzymes, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5- lipoxygenase (5-LOX), are both highly expressed during the carcinogenesis in colons. Cigarette smoking promotes these carcinogenic processes at the early stage during adenoma formation. In this article, the involvement of COX-2 and 5-LOX, alongside with the dual COX/5-LOX inhibitors in colorectal cancer development is introduced. The c Read More

Osteoarthritis is a disabling affliction expected to increase in the coming decades, and disease- modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) would be highly desirable adjuncts to symptomatic relief and structure reconstruction as they may delay the disease process. Chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine have been observed to exert beneficial effects on the metabolism of various cells involved in osteoarthritis as well as in ani Read More

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most prevalent autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS). Its pathophysiology is centered on neuron myelin sheath destruction in a manner largely dependent upon CD4+/CD8+ T-cell autoreactivity against myelin antigens, inducing Th1/Th17 pathogenic responses with the resulting production of free radicals and soluble mediators that exhibit the effector mechanisms of neuro Read More

Background: Verteporfin is a porphyrinic photosensitizer clinically used for the photodynamic treatment of age-related macular degeneration. It has been identified almost simultaneously as a YAP/TEAD and an autophagosome inhibitor. Over the last few years, YAP (TAZ), the downstream effectors of the Hippo pathway, have emerged as promising anticancer targets, as shown by several experimental lines of evidence, sho Read More