Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 16, Issue 7, 2016

The natural sequences of nucleic acids generally consist of nucleotides linked together by canonical 3'-5' phosphodiester bonds. An inversion of polarity site (IPS) can be defined as the point of the sequence in which a 3'-3' or a 5'-5' phosphodiester bond occurs. By extending this definition, an IPS can be described as that part of the sequence in which two 3'- or two 5'-hydroxyl groups are connected by a linker, variable in size or in chemical nature. In G-quadruplex structures an IPS can be introduced in three different positions: inside a non G-tract, inside a G-tract and just between a non Gtract and a G-tract. Investigations have been reported concerning all the three types of modification. This review describes the effects of the presence of one or more IPSs in G-quadruplex structures, particularly regarding their topological and structural characteristics, glycosidic bond preference, and thermal stability, with special attention to biologically active Gquadruplex forming aptamers. The perspectives and potential developments of this research area are also discussed.

Mitochondria play important roles as energetic centers. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were found in several diseases, including cancers. Studies on cytoplasmic hybrids (cybrids) confirm that directed mutation introduced into mtDNA could be a reason for cancer induction. Mitochondria could also be a factor linking cancer transformation and progression. The importance of mitochondria in cancer also confirms their involvement in the resistance to treatment. Resistance to treatment of cancer cells can frequently be a reason for glycolysis acceleration. It could be explained by cancer cells’ high proliferation index and high energy request. The involvement of mitochondria in metabolic disturbances of several metabolic diseases, including cancers, was reported. These data confirm that cancer induction, as well as cancer progression, could have metabolic roots. The aberrant products observed in prostate cells involved in the Krebs cycle could promote cancer progression. These multiple relationships between alterations on a genetic level translated into disturbances in cellular metabolism and their potential relation with epigenetic control of gene expression make cancerogenesis more complicated and prognoses’ success in studies on cancer etiology more distant in time.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of death in men worldwide. The main reason for the progression of prostate cancer is identified as over activation of androgen receptor (AR) through androgens. Its development can be diagnosed by monitoring the prostate specific antigen (PSA). Treatment of PCa includes prostatectomy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, among them chemotherapy is normally employed in early and advanced prostate cancer. Chemotherapy mainly includes two classes of drugs which are steroidal and non-steroidal antiandrogens. The non-steroidal classes of compounds are preferred over steroidal because they are relatively safe, cost effective and diverse. Non-steroidal drugs are commonly used for the treatment of PCa, however these drugs are associated with serious side effects and acquired resistance. So researchers are working in the direction to develop better analogue which can address the issue related to resistant type of prostate cancer. This review discusses the advancement in the non-steroidal antiandrogens which offers a better potential in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a female predominant autoimmune demyelinating disease of central nervous system. The proper etiology is not clear. The existing therapies with interferon beta (Betaseron, Rebif), glatiramer acetate (copolymer 1, copaxone) are found to be promising for MS patients. The alpha-4 integrin antagonist monoclonal antibody Natalizumab has been found to decrease brain inflammation in relapsing-remitting MS via inhibition of alpha-4 beta- 1 integrinmediated mode of action of antigen -primed T cells to enter into central nervous system through blood brain barrier. The advancement of drug development introduced prospects of CD52 monoclonal antibody Alemtuzumab and CD20 monoclonal antibody Rituximab in MS therapy. The benefit versus risk ratios of these therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are currently under clinical trial. The ongoing researches demonstrated the importance of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor statins, NF-ΚBp65 inhibitor NBD peptide, and antagonist of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), animal model for MS. Recently, the clinical trials indicated the therapeutic prospect of G-protein coupled sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) in MS patients. Recent studies showed remyelination through selective activation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. In the context, role of S1PR-mediated signals following interaction with natural ligand S1P and agonist Fingolimod (FTY720) gain profound therapeutic importance in prevention of demyelination in MS brain. The S1PR agonist Fingolimod (FTY 720) has recently been approved by Food and Drug Administration for MS therapy. In the review, we provided an insight on S1PR mode of action in the aspect of treatment of autoimmune disorder, re-myelination and regeneration of axons in damaged central nervous system in multiple sclerosis.

Pathogenic fungi are a major causative group for opportunistic infections (OIs). AIDS patients and other immunocompromised individuals are at risk for OIs, which if not treated appropriately, contribute to the mortality associated with their conditions. Several studies have indicated that the majority of HIV-positive patients contract fungal infections throughout the course of their disease. Similar observations have been made regarding the increased frequency of bone marrow and organ transplants, the use of antineoplastic agents, the excessive use of antibiotics, and the prolonged use of corticosteroids among others. In addition, several pathogenic fungi have developed resistance to current drugs. Together these have conspired to spur a need for developing new treatment options for OIs. To aid this effort, this article reviews the biological targets of current and emerging drugs and agents that act through these targets for the treatment of opportunistic fungal infections.

Structural and electronic factors influencing the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 (COX-1/COX-2) were studied by means of Electronic-Topological Method combined with Neural Networks (ETM-NN), molecular docking and Density Functional Theory (DFT). A series of structurally diverse compounds containing 209 molecules were classified in accordance with their inhibiting properties, as selectively inhibiting and non-selectively inhibiting COX-2 receptor agents (110 and 99 molecules, correspondingly). The results obtained from the ETM-NN calculations gave us possibility of selecting those pharmacophoric molecular fragments, which allow for the search of new selective inhibitors of COX-2 with high probability of realization. The final selection of pharmacophores and anti-pharmacophores found was taken as a basis for a system designed for the COX-2 inhibitory activity prediction. Analysis of the electron density distribution showed that more effective binding with COX-2 receptor was observed for selective inhibitors. To make an assessment of these interactions, calculations of stabilization energies were carried out for the ligand-receptor complexes. From the results of the docking and from the analysis of electronic structures of active sites of enzymes, some peculiarities of ligand-receptor binding and its influence on the selectivity of the COX-2 relative to COX-1 inhibition were elucidated. 95% of compounds were recognized correctly, as the most active ones, by the system of prediction designed. Thus, the system being the result of the study is capable of predicting the selective inhibitory activity of COX-2 successfully. As a consequence, it can be used both for computer screening and synthesis of potent inhibitors of COX-2 with molecular skeletons that may vary considerably.