Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Interaction With G Proteins In Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation, Motility, And Calcium Signaling, Murat Oz, Justin R. King, Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Sarah Khushaish, Yulia Tchugunova, Maitham A. Khajah, Yunus A. Luqmani, Nadine Kabbani Jul 2023

Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Interaction With G Proteins In Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation, Motility, And Calcium Signaling, Murat Oz, Justin R. King, Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Sarah Khushaish, Yulia Tchugunova, Maitham A. Khajah, Yunus A. Luqmani, Nadine Kabbani

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Chronic smoking is a primary risk factor for breast cancer due to the presence of various toxins and carcinogens within tobacco products. Nicotine is the primary addictive component of tobacco products and has been shown to promote breast cancer cell proliferation and metastases. Nicotine activates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that are expressed in cancer cell lines. Here, we examine the role of the α7 nAChR in coupling to heterotrimeric G proteins within breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Pharmacological activation of the α7 nAChR using choline or nicotine was found to increase proliferation, motility, and calcium signaling in MCF-7 cells. This effect …


Virtual And In Vitro Screening Of Natural Products Identifies Indole And Benzene Derivatives As Inhibitors Of Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease (MPro), Dony Ang, Riley Kendall, Hagop S. Atamian Mar 2023

Virtual And In Vitro Screening Of Natural Products Identifies Indole And Benzene Derivatives As Inhibitors Of Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease (MPro), Dony Ang, Riley Kendall, Hagop S. Atamian

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in serious health, social, and economic consequences. While the development of effective vaccines substantially reduced the severity of symptoms and the associated deaths, we still urgently need effective drugs to further reduce the number of casualties associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections. Machine learning methods both improved and sped up all the different stages of the drug discovery processes by performing complex analyses with enormous datasets. Natural products (NPs) have been used for treating diseases and infections for thousands of years and represent a valuable resource for drug discovery when combined with …