Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 11, Issue 23, 2011

In this issue of Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, we highlight several aspects of the medicinal chemistry of ubiquitin- proteasome pathway (UPP) and its relevance in drug discovery by collecting comprehensive reviews from several experts working in this field. More than 80% normal and abnormal intracellular proteins were degraded by UPP. A growing body of evidence suggested that derangements of UPP could lead Read More

The 26S proteasome is the enzymatic core engine of the ubiquitin and proteasome dependent proteolytic system (UPS), the major eukaryotic pathway for regulated protein degradation. The UPS plays a pivotal role in cellular protein turnover, protein quality control, antigen processing, signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, cell differentiation and apoptosis, inspiring in-depth studies of proteasome structure and functi Read More

The Rho family small GTPases of the Ras superfamily play key roles in regulating diverse signaling pathways that control a myriad of fundamental cellular processes such as cytoskeletal dynamics, cell cycle progression, gene expression, cell polarity, migration and cell transformation. The Rho GTPases cycle between an active GTP-bound and an inactive GDP-bound form, which is controlled by many regulators including GEFs, G Read More

Selective degradation of proteins by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is a critical determinant for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Most intracellular proteins are degraded by the proteasome, a multicatalytic enzyme complex containing a 20S catalytic core and two 19S regulatory complexes. Many proteasome target proteins are involved in the regulation of important processes of carcinogenesis and cancer cell su Read More

Salinosporamide A (4), a secondary metabolite of the marine actinomycete Salinispora tropica, is a potent inhibitor of 20S proteasome that is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of cancers. Herein, we described various synthetic strategies of 4 and summarized the SAR of 4 and its analogs.

The proteasome, a large multisubunit protease complex, has been extensively investigated over the years, greatly enhancing our understanding of critical roles that the proteasome plays in cells. The FDA approval of bortezomib for the treatment of multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma has validated the proteasome as an anticancer target. However, the undesirable toxicities of these agents limit their broad utility. The i Read More

The target proteasome has been the focus of drug discovery since the first drug bortezomib was launched in 2003. Many structurally diverse proteasome inhibitors were discovered and even some of them entered the clinical trials. Due to rapid technological progress in chemistry, bioinformatics, structural biology and computer technology, computeraided drug design (CADD) plays a more and more important role i Read More