Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 14, Issue 22, 2014

Reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress, and oxidative damage are increasingly assigned important roles as harmful factors in pathological conditions and ageing. ROS are potentially reactive molecules derived from the reduction of molecular oxygen in the course of aerobic metabolism. ROS can also be produced through a variety of enzymes. Under normal circumstances, ROS concentrations are tightly controlled by phy Read More

Sesquiterpenes, 15-carbon compounds formed from 3 isoprenoid units, are secondary metabolites produced mainly in higher plants but also in fungi and invertebrates. Sesquiterpenes occur in human food, but they are principally taken as components of many folk medicines and dietary supplements. Moreover, sesquiterpenes could become a rich reservoir of candidate compounds for drug discovery as several sesquiterp Read More

Acetylation of proteins with the addition of an acetyl group on the lysine residue is one of the vital posttranslational modifications that regulate protein stability, function and intracellular compartmentalization. Like other posttranslational modifications, protein acetylation influences many if not all vital functions of the cell. Protein acetylation has been originally associated with histone acetylation regulated by Histone Acetyl Tr Read More

Lanthanides are group of rare-earth elements with growing applications both in the industry and healthcare. Their unique properties impose various possibilities for involvement in electron transfer reactions essential for the cellular survival and health on general. The intensified contact of people with lanthanides and the expanding medicinal applications of their compounds insist more profound knowledge on the involveme Read More

There are numerous reports on the role of oxidative stress in the origin of some neurodegenerative (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s) diseases; however, the information concerning molecular mechanisms of the observed effects is rather contradictory. This paper summarizes the review of our own works in this field and new experimental observations on the antioxidant action of some hydrophobic plant compounds. We disc Read More

Influenza virus infections represent a big issue for public health since effective treatments are still lacking. In particular, the emergence of strains resistant to drugs limits the effectiveness of anti-influenza agents. For this reason, many efforts have been dedicated to the identification of new therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting the virus-host cell interactions. Oxidative stress is a characteristic of some viral infections inclu Read More

Cardiovascular diseases, which are the leading cause of mortality in the Western World, are closely associated with atherosclerosis development. Atherosclerosis is a chronic multifactorial disease of the arterial wall characterized by endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is an alteration of the balance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant mechanisms which promotes vascular complication Read More

Chromones (1-benzopyran-4-ones) are natural occurring compounds present in representative amounts in a normal human diet and are associated with interesting physiological activities such as antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, antitumor, anticancer etc. These biological activities are thought to be related to the antioxidant properties of chromones i.e. to neutralize active oxygen and to cut off free radicals processes that can dela Read More

The chemical versatility of the indole nucleus still inspires the pharmaceutical research to develop innovative suitable indole based drugs. The present work is an overview of the use and application of indole molecule based derivatives, as possible treatment in the main Oxidative Stress related diseases, such as cardiovascular, neurological, and cancer. The indole nucleus is a particular class of reducers, very efficient wh Read More

Despite multiple sclerosis (MS) represents one of the most fascinating mystery of modern medicine due to its unknown etiology and the incomplete knowledge of a clear mechanism of pathogenesis, progress against this disease has made giant leaps. Current management of MS takes advantage of many disease- modifying therapeutics of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory nature, whose primary aims are halti Read More

Coumarins are considered to be privileged structures due to their broad range of biological properties, including anticoagulant, anti-neurodegenerative, antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activities. These interesting properties of coumarins can be ascribed to the chemical attributes of the 2H-chromen-2-one core; its aromatic ring can establish a series of hydrophobic, π-π, CH-π and cation-π interactions, an Read More