Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 3, Issue 1, 2007

In order to find effective peptide inhibitors against SARS CoV Mpro, an analysis was performed for 11 oligopeptides that can be cleaved by the SARS coronavirus main protease (CoV Mpro, or 3CLpro). Flexible molecular alignments of the 11 cleavable peptides have provided useful insights into the chemical properties of their amino acid residues close to the cleavage site. Moreover, it was found through the ligand-receptor docking Read More

It is well accepted that acetylcholine is involved in memory and learning processes and that loss of memory is characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several muscarinic agonists have been shown to be clinically effective in the treatment of AD. However, their use has been limited due to adverse side effects. As a result, more selective M1 agonists are expected to be the next generation of agents for the treatment of AD. Read More

Bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) is the major component of the outer leaflet of the outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria. During severe infections, bacteria may reach the blood circuit of humans, and endotoxins may be released from the bacteria due to cell division or cell death. In particular enterobacterial forms of LPS represent extremely strong activator molecules of the human immune system causing Read More

Annually, approximately 30,000 people suffer from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in the United States. In an estimated 5% of these patients, the hemorrhage is difficult to diagnose using conventional methods. Clinicians must rely upon a combination of clinical history, Computerized Tomography (CT) scan evidence and lumbar puncture results to diagnose and differentiate SAH from a traumatic spinal ta Read More

The aim of this study was to determine in endotoxemic rats the effects of N-acetylcysteine on lung redox imbalance and plasma peroxynitrite generation. Eighty male Wistar rats were divided in two sets of five experimental groups. Six hours after vehicle (Control group: isotonic NaCl sterile solution ip; n=7), lipopolysaccharide (LPS group: 1 mg/Kg ip; n=8), N-acetylcysteine plus LPS (NAC+LPS group, n=8), NAC plus the nitric Read More

Prevention of hepatitis is a worldwide issue. For most patients with liver disease, hepatoprotective drugs are required. But there are only a few hepatoprotective drugs available. Osthole is a coumarin compound and protects the liver from hepatitis by preventing the development of apoptosis. However, osthole exhibits low water solubility, and some structural modifications are required for sufficient hepatoprotection Read More

Two derivatives of cephalothin, compound I and II, were synthesized and demonstrated strong growth inhibition of ampicillin resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli). Compound I is the propyl ester of the parent cephalothin antibiotic, while compound II is the butyl ester derivative. The ester substituent replaces the former carboxyl group of cephalothin. Compounds I and II are stable at room temperature and have increased Read More

Ginseng has been used extensively for medicinal purposes, with suggested utility for indications as diverse as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Herein we report the discovery and characterization of 20(S)-25-OCH3-PPD, a ginsenoside that inhibits growth and survival of cancer cells. The novel dammarane triterpene sapogenin (C31H56O4; molecular weight 492) was isolated from the total hydrolyzed saponins extract Read More

Hypertension plays major causative roles in development of cardiac failure and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Cardiac and renal involvements in hypertension and relevant pharmacological interventions have been extensively studied in our laboratories. Our findings demonstrated that aged spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) developed reduced coronary flow reserve, increased coronary vascular resistance and cardiac fibr Read More

Pain and inflammation are simultaneous responses in bacterial infections. In current clinical practice, two groups of agents like antibacterial and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's) are prescribed simultaneously. Regrettably, none of the drug possesses these activities in a single component. Exploiting the bioisosterism concept, we have documented that 2-phenyl-3-substituted quinazolines, 2,3-disubstituted quina Read More

Cyclin dependent kinases have emerged as important drug targets with a multitude of therapeutic potentials for their inhibitors. With the purpose of designing new chemical entities with enhanced inhibitory potencies against cyclin dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) and cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), the 3D-QSAR CoMFA study carried out on oxindole derivatives as inhibitors of these kinases is presented here. The developed m Read More

Human Vγ2Vδ2 T cells recognize nonpeptide antigens, such as isoprenoid pyrophosphomonoester intermediates, alkylamine compounds, and bisphosphonate drugs, as well as some tumor cells. Although attempts have been made to derive novel cancer immunotherapies based on the discovery of these unconventional antigens, effective therapies remain to be developed. Here, we synthesized a series of pyrophosphat Read More

Moexipril is a long-acting, non-sulfhydryl angiotensine-converting enzyme inhibitor. It is used for treatment of arterial hypertension. Moexipril is the prodrug, yielding moexiprilat by hydrolysis of an ethyl ester group. Moexiprilat is the metabolite responsible for the pharmacological effect after moexipril administration. Samples of rat and human microsomai preparations exposed to moexipril treatment were analyzed by HPLC u Read More

Virtual screening involves the mining of small molecule databases from various sources. The small molecule databases used in virtual screening are typically processed, from simple 2D representations, to maximize their information content and to optimize them for input to the particular virtual screening technology being used. Processing interprets or adds molecular information related to connectivity, stereochemistry, p Read More