Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 23, Issue 3, 2016

PAC-1 induces the activation of procaspase-3 in vitro and in cell culture by chelation of inhibitory labile zinc ions via its ortho-hydroxy-N-acylhydrazone moiety. First reported in 2006, PAC-1 has shown promise in cell culture and animal models of cancer, and a Phase I clinical trial in cancer patients began in March 2015 (NCT02355535). Because of the considerable interest in this compound and a well-defined structure-activity relationship, over 1000 PAC-1 derivatives have been synthesized in an effort to vary pharmacological properties such as potency and pharmacokinetics. This article provides a comprehensive examination of all PAC-1 derivatives reported to date. A survey of PAC-1 derivative libraries is provided, with an indepth discussion of four derivatives on which extensive studies have been performed.

It is accepted that sphingolipids (SL) are not only structural lipids in cellular membranes, but also key regulators of different cell process. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a member of this family involved, inter alia, in cell migration, angiogenesis and cell proliferation processes, being able to play different intracellular and extracellular roles. When S1P is transported out of the cell, it binds S1P specific G protein-coupled receptors, which are mainly involved in the regulation of the immune, vascular and nervous systems. These effects account for the vast diversity of functions that arise from the activation of S1P receptors. Deregulation of S1P levels is correlated with several pathologies, such as autoimmune disorders and cancer. Consequently, the correct modulation of these receptors represents a valuable approach for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Along this line, the non-selective S1P receptor agonist fingolimod (FTY720) has been commercialized recently for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and several related S1P receptor modulators are ongoing clinical trials. However, despite the progress in this field, the biological functions of S1P receptors are not still well elucidated. For this reason, several studies are being developed in order to better understand the functions of these receptors, making use of new selective S1P receptor agonists and antagonists as pharmacological tools.

Class I homeobox genes (Hox in mice and HOX in humans), encode for 39 transcription factors and display a unique genomic network organization mainly involved in the regulation of embryonic development and in the cell memory program. The HOX network controls the aberrant epigenetic modifications involving in the cell memory program. In details, the HOX cluster plays a crucial role in the generation and evolution of several diseases: congenic malformation, oncogenesis, metabolic processes and deregulation of cell cycle. In this review, I discussed about the role of HOX gene network in the control of cardiovascular development.

A polyelectrolyte is a polymer composed of repeating units of an electrolyte group that enables reversible complex formation with proteins in aqueous solutions. This review introduces “wrap-and-strip” technology of protein–polyelectrolyte complex (PPC) by noncovalent interaction. Storage: protein is stabilized against physical and chemical stresses. Enrichment: precipitation through PPC can be used as an enrichment method without irreversible unfolding. Catalytic activity switch: a complementary charged pair of polyelectrolytes functions as a reversible enzyme activity switch. Hyperactivation: a specific combination of a polyelectrolyte and substrate enhances enzyme activity by one order of magnitude compared with an enzyme alone. Stabilization: PPC increases protein stability against chemical and physical stresses, such as covalently modified polyethylene glycosylated protein. Simple PPC-based technology can expand the applicable fields of soluble proteins in aqueous solutions.

Diabetes mellitus has been associated with a higher risk of exocrine pancreas disorders despite inconsistencies among studies, presumably due to the presence of several (often unmeasured) confounding factors. As a direct consequence of this uncertainty, the relationship between anti-diabetic therapies and pancreatic adverse reactions is difficult to evaluate and remains far from being clarified. Indeed, the on going debate on the safety of incretin-based therapies does not lie in any definite conclusion. Serum level of amylases and lipase reflects the balance between production from different tissues and clearance, but it may be also influenced by numerous molecular, cellular, and systems mechanisms. The present review tries to provide an overview of potential biochemical pathways that may underlie pancreatic hyperenzymemia in health and diabetes mellitus.