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Full-Text Articles in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors Possess Intrinsic Anti-Inflammatory Activity, Benjamin J. Fowler, Bradley D. Gelfand, Younghee Kim, Nagaraj Kerur, Valeria Tarallo, Yoshio Hirano, Shoba Amarnath, Daniel H. Fowler, Marta Radwan, Mark T. Young, Keir Pittman, Paul Kubes, Hitesh Agarwal, Keykavous Parang, David R. Hinton, Ana Bastos-Carvalho, Shengjian Li, Testuhiro Yasuma, Takeshi Mizutani, Reo Yasuma, Charles Wright, Jayakrishna Ambati Nov 2014

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors Possess Intrinsic Anti-Inflammatory Activity, Benjamin J. Fowler, Bradley D. Gelfand, Younghee Kim, Nagaraj Kerur, Valeria Tarallo, Yoshio Hirano, Shoba Amarnath, Daniel H. Fowler, Marta Radwan, Mark T. Young, Keir Pittman, Paul Kubes, Hitesh Agarwal, Keykavous Parang, David R. Hinton, Ana Bastos-Carvalho, Shengjian Li, Testuhiro Yasuma, Takeshi Mizutani, Reo Yasuma, Charles Wright, Jayakrishna Ambati

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are mainstay therapeutics for HIV that block retrovirus replication. Alu (an endogenous retroelement that also requires reverse transcriptase for its life cycle)–derived RNAs activate P2X7 and the NLRP3 inflammasome to cause cell death of the retinal pigment epithelium in geographic atrophy, a type of age-related macular degeneration. We found that NRTIs inhibit P2X7-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation independent of reverse transcriptase inhibition. Multiple approved and clinically relevant NRTIs prevented caspase-1 activation, the effector of the NLRP3 inflammasome, induced by Alu RNA. NRTIs were efficacious in mouse models of geographic atrophy, choroidal neovascularization, graft-versus-host disease, and sterile …


The Role Of Ape/Ref-1 In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression, Zhen Yang, Sun Yang, Bobbye J. Misner, Feng Liu-Smith, Frank L. Meyskens Aug 2014

The Role Of Ape/Ref-1 In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression, Zhen Yang, Sun Yang, Bobbye J. Misner, Feng Liu-Smith, Frank L. Meyskens

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is responsible for a third of the estimated cancer-caused deaths worldwide. To deeply understand the mechanisms controlling HCC progression is of primary importance to develop new approaches for treatment. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-1/redox effector factor 1 (APE/Ref-1) has been uncovered elevated in various types of cancer, including HCC. Additionally, HCC progression is always correlated with elevated copper (Cu). Our previous data demonstrated that Cu treatment initiated APE/Ref-1 expression and its downstream targets. Therefore, we hypothesized that APE/Ref-1 may be involved in HCC progression through mediating the effect of Cu to its signaling cascades. Following different treatments, human HCC cell …


Structural Similarity Between Β3-Peptides Synthesized From Β3-Homo-Amino Acids Or L-Aspartic Acid Monomers, Sahar Ahmed, Tara Sprules, Kamaljit Kaur May 2014

Structural Similarity Between Β3-Peptides Synthesized From Β3-Homo-Amino Acids Or L-Aspartic Acid Monomers, Sahar Ahmed, Tara Sprules, Kamaljit Kaur

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Formation of stable secondary structures by oligomers that mimic natural peptides is a key asset for enhanced biological response. Here we show that oligomeric β3‐hexapeptides synthesized from l‐aspartic acid monomers (β3‐peptides 1, 5a, and 6) or homologated β3‐amino acids (β3‐peptide 2), fold into similar stable 14‐helical secondary structures in solution, except that the former form right‐handed 14‐helix and the later form left‐handed 14‐helix. β3‐Peptides from l‐Asp monomers contain an additional amide bond in the side chains that provides opportunities for more hydrogen bonding. However, based on the …


Facile, Regio-And Diastereoselective Synthesis Of Spiro-Pyrrolidine And Pyrrolizine Derivatives And Evaluation Of Their Antiproliferative Activities, Abdulrahman I. Almansour, Raju Suresh Kumar, Farzana Beevi, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Hasnah Osman, Rusli Ismail, Tan Soo Chen, Brian Sullivan, Kellen Mccaffrey, Alaa Nahhas, Keykavous Parang, Mohamed Ashraf Ali Jan 2014

Facile, Regio-And Diastereoselective Synthesis Of Spiro-Pyrrolidine And Pyrrolizine Derivatives And Evaluation Of Their Antiproliferative Activities, Abdulrahman I. Almansour, Raju Suresh Kumar, Farzana Beevi, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Hasnah Osman, Rusli Ismail, Tan Soo Chen, Brian Sullivan, Kellen Mccaffrey, Alaa Nahhas, Keykavous Parang, Mohamed Ashraf Ali

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

A number of novel spiro-pyrrolidines/pyrrolizines derivatives were synthesized through [3+2]-cycloaddition of azomethine ylides with 3,5-bis[(E)-arylmethylidene] tetrahydro-4(1H)-pyridinones 2a-n. Azomethine ylides were generated in situ from the reaction of 1H-indole-2,3-dione (isatin, 3) with N-methylglycine (sarcosine), phenylglycine, or proline. All compounds (50 M) were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against human breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231), leukemia lymphoblastic (CCRF-CEM), and ovarian carcinoma (SK-OV-3) cells. N-alpha-Phenyl substituted spiro-pyrrolidine derivatives (5a-n) showed higher antiproliferative activity in MDA-MB-231 than other cancer cell lines. Among spiro-pyrrolizines 6a-n, a number of derivatives including 6a-c and 6i-m showed a comparable activity with doxorubicin in all three cell lines. Among all compounds …