Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 23, Issue 15, 2016

Aberrant expression and activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) is a frequent feature of tumor cells that may underlie tumor aggressiveness. Among RTK, Axl, a member of the Tyro3-Axl-Mer family, represents a potential therapeutic target in different tumor types given its over-expression which leads to activation of oncogenic signaling promoting cell proliferation and survival, as well as migration and invasion. Axl can pro Read More

The pathways leading to development of neurodegenerative disease and cancer cell death may overlap. Interestingly, the main neurodegeneration-causing factors have been suggested to play a pivotal role in the regulation of tumor growth. Another common component in neurodegenerations and cancer is nitro-oxidative stress. Depending on the environmental conditions, the nitro-oxidative stress may lead Read More

The diaryl urea is an important fragment/pharmacophore in constructing anticancer molecules due to its near-perfect binding with certain acceptors. The urea NH moiety is a favorable hydrogen bond donor, while the urea oxygen atom is regarded as an excellent acceptor. Many novel compounds have been synthesized and evaluated for their antitumor activity with the successful development of sorafenib. Moreover, t Read More

The isoprenoid stress-associated phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) has recently been recognized to possess multifaceted biological functions in mammals and to exert potent curative effects in a number of clinically relevant human diseases. Studies with human specimens have unequivocally shown that ABA retains its stress-related functional attributes, previously identified in plants, which contribute to enhanced inflammatory Read More

The calcium binding protein S100B has attracted great attention as a biomarker for a variety of diseases. S100B is mainly expressed in glial cells and functions through intracellular and extracellular signaling pathways. The biological roles of S100B have been closely associated with its concentrations and its physiological states. The released S100B can bind to the receptor of advanced glycation end products and induce Read More