Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 14, Issue 8, 2014

Background & Scope of the review: This review focuses on the UV radiation effects on skin, emphasizing the photoaging process, and the photoprotection conferred by tretinoin (all-trans retinoic acid or ATRA). Tretinoin is still the best tested retinoid to reverse photoaged skin. Major Conclusions: Tretinoin can be used for photoaging treatment or combined treatment by different mechanisms. It binds to and activates r Read More

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key energy sensor that regulates cellular energy homeostasis. AMPK activation is associated with decreased phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and S6 kinase and causes a general reduction in mRNA translation and protein synthesis. Therefore, AMPK is a novel target for anticancer therapy. Metformin and aspirin are two traditional drugs that are wid Read More

Androgen receptor has been shown to promote prostate cell growth and carcinogenesis of prostate cancer by up-regulating its target genes. Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone are two major hormones which bind to and activate androgen receptor. Targeting both the androgen receptor and the enzymes catalyzing the biosynthesis of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone has been shown to be clinically beneficial Read More

As important members of the terpenes family, sesquiterpenes represent a group of natural compounds with diverse skeletal types. Among them, the eremophilane-type sesquiterpenes, widely present in several genera (such as Ligularia, Senecio, Cacalia) of Asteraceae, account for a small number of natural compounds and form differently from other sesquiterpenes because they challenged the isoprene rule of biosynthesi Read More

The emergence of drug resistant strains of important human pathogens has created an urgent necessity to find new targets and novel antitubercular agents. According to the literature survey, we noticed that enoyl ACP reductase is one of the most promising targets. This enzyme is the most important catalyst for the FAS II synthesis of mycolic acid, which is the most essential component of the mycobacterial cell wall Read More

Compounds derived from nature have played a major role in drug discovery. They became the basis for the development of new pharmaceuticals. In this scope, family Cucurbitaceae is a prominent source of secondary metabolites, mainly triterpenoids. In this paper, we provide a brief review of cucurbitane metabolites that exhibit an extensive range of biological actions specifically antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, hepat Read More