Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 24, Issue 12, 2017

Pre-clinical and clinical studies have investigated the role of a dysregulated metabolism in the sustainability of tumor initiation and progression. One of the most familiar metabolic alterations encountered in several types of cancers is the upregulation of glycolysis, which is also maintained in conditions of normal oxygen tension (aerobic glycolysis, Warburg effect) while oxidative phosphorylation is apparently reduced. As a res Read More

Cancer cells are permanently being selected for survival and proliferation. During this process, tumor cells often co-opt basic physiological mechanisms to protect themselves from toxic chemotherapy. One of these mechanisms is the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug efflux pumps leading to multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells through an increase of drug efflux. In the past 20 years, many efforts Read More

In line with our previous studies, novel morpholine and benzoxa(or thia)zine lead compounds have been developed through a rational design that modulate a multiplicity of targets against atherosclerosis. We have evaluated the most promising compounds for their efficiency to a) intercept and scavenge free radicals, b) inhibit the metal ion (Cu2+)-induced LDL oxidation c) act intracellularly as antioxidants in THP-1 monocytes fr Read More

Fc-fusion proteins are composed of Fc region of IgG antibody (Hinge-CH2-CH3) and a desired linked protein. Fc region of Fc-fusion proteins can bind to neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) thereby rescuing it from degradation. The first therapeutic Fc-fusion protein was introduced for the treatment of AIDS. The molecular designing is the first stage in production of Fc-fusion proteins. The amino acid residues in the Fc region and linked p Read More

Sphingolipids (SLs) regulate apoptosis, proliferation, and stress response. SLs, including ceramide, glycosphingolipids (glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, and gangliosides) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of genetic (lysosomal storage disease, congenital nephrotic syndrome and polycystic kidney disease) and non-genetic forms of chronic kidney diseases (CKDs) Read More