Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 15, Issue 14, 2015

DNA interactive agents have been used in the clinical setting for the treatment of cancer since the beginning of modern-era chemotherapy. Despite a shift of focus towards molecular targeted therapy, DNA remains a critical macromolecular target for anti-cancer intervention and the next generation of agents must conform to the optimum combination of increased therapeutic activity and reduced off-target toxicity. We ev Read More

Transcription factors are recognized as the master regulators of gene expression. Interestingly, about 10% of the transcription factors described in mammals are up to date directly implicated in a very large number of human diseases. With the exception of ligand-inducible nuclear receptors, transcription factors have longtime been considered as “undruggable” targets for therapeutics. However, the significant breakthroughs i Read More

Distamycin and netropsin analogues have been designed for targeting specific sequences in DNA. Numerous reviews have been centered on the replacement of N-methylpyrrole with heteroaromatic rings in order to induce better fitting to improve the binding efficiency and the introduction of additional interactions for recognition of GC base pairs at the minor groove of DNA. Most of these designed analogs retained the use of Read More

Estrogen receptors, comprised of ERα and ERβ isoforms in mammals, act as ligandmodulated transcription factors and orchestrate a plethora of cellular functions from sexual development and reproduction to metabolic homeostasis. Herein, I revisit the structural basis of the binding of ERα to DNA and estradiol in light of the recent discoveries and emerging trends in the field of nuclear receptors. A particular emphasis of this r Read More

XR5944 is a potent anticancer drug with a novel DNA binding mode: DNA bisintercalationg with major groove binding. XR5944 can bind the estrogen response element (ERE) sequence to block ER-ERE binding and inhibit ERα activities, which may be useful for overcoming drug resistance to currently available antiestrogen treatments. This review discusses the progress relating to the structure and function studies of specif Read More

Expansion of trinucleotide repeats (TNRs) within genes plays a major role in pathology of various neurological diseases. The correlations of these unusual repetitive sequences with the aetiology of these diseases and the mechanism by which those repeats are expanded during replication have been extensively studied. Small-molecule ligands that bind to TNRs could provide potent biological applications. First, the length of the T Read More

Doxorubicin has been in use as a key anticancer drug for forty years, either as a single agent or in combination chemotherapy. It functions primarily by interfering with topoisomerase II activity but in the presence of formaldehyde, it forms adducts with DNA, mainly with the exocyclic amine of guanine at GpC sites and these adducts are more cytotoxic than topoisomerase II induced damage. High levels of adducts form spontan Read More