Swietenine Alleviates Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Diabetic Mice via Lipogenesis Inhibition and Antioxidant Mechanisms.

Our previous studies have reported the effect of swietenine (a major bioactive component of Swietenia macrophylla seeds) in reversing and potentiating the effect of metformin in hyperglycemia and hyperlipidaemia in diabetic rats. Moreover, we reported that the anti-inflammatory effect of swietenine is mediated via the activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). This study evaluated the effect of swietenine and its mechanisms in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.

Synthesis of New Shogaol Analogues as NRF2 Activators and Evaluation of Their Anti-Inflammatory Activity, Modes of Action and Metabolic Stability.

6-shogaol is a natural and the most potent bioactive vanilloid in dried rhizomes. Many scientific studies have reported the diverse biological activities of 6-shogaol. However, the major drawback of 6-shogaol is its instability at room temperature.

Lysyl-tRNA synthetase, a target for urgently needed M. tuberculosis drugs.

Tuberculosis is a major global cause of both mortality and financial burden mainly in low and middle-income countries. Given the significant and ongoing rise of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within the clinical setting, there is an urgent need for the development of new, safe and effective treatments. Here the development of a drug-like series based on a fused dihydropyrrolidino-pyrimidine scaffold is described.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Auranamide and Patriscabratine-Mechanisms and In Silico Studies.

Auranamide and patriscabratine are amides from (L.) Smith. Their anti-inflammatory activity and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) activation ability were evaluated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophages (RAW264.

The role of DMPK science in improving pharmaceutical research and development efficiency.

The successful regulatory authority approval rate of drug candidates in the drug development pipeline is crucial for determining pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) efficiency. Regulatory authorities include the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), and Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau Japan (PFSB), among others. Optimal drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) properties influence the progression of a drug candidate from the preclinical to the clinical phase.

A Systematic Study of the In Vitro Pharmacokinetics and Estimated Human In Vivo Clearance of Indole and Indazole-3-Carboxamide Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists Detected on the Illicit Drug Market.

In vitro pharmacokinetic studies were conducted on enantiomer pairs of twelve valinate or -leucinate indole and indazole-3-carboxamide synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) detected on the illicit drug market to investigate their physicochemical parameters and structure-metabolism relationships (SMRs). Experimentally derived Log D ranged from 2.81 (AB-FUBINACA) to 4.

Identification and Optimization of a Series of 8-Hydroxy Naphthyridines with Potent Antileishmanial Activity: Initial SAR and Assessment of Activity.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic infection that results in approximately 26 000-65 000 deaths annually. The available treatments are hampered by issues such as toxicity, variable efficacy, and unsuitable dosing options. The need for new treatments is urgent and led to a collaboration between the Drugs for Neglected Diseases (DND), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and the University of Dundee.

Discovery of Soft-Drug Topical Tool Modulators of Sphingosine-1-phosphate Receptor 1 (S1PR1).

In order to study the role of S1PRs in inflammatory skin disease, S1PR modulators are dosed orally and topically in animal models of disease. The topical application of S1PR modulators in these models may, however, lead to systemic drug concentrations, which can complicate interpretation of the observed effects. We set out to design soft drug S1PR modulators as topical tool compounds to overcome this limitation.

Discovery of super soft-drug modulators of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1.

The oral S1PR1 agonist ponesimod demonstrated substantial efficacy in a phase II clinical trial of psoriasis. Unfortunately, systemic side effects were observed, which included lymphopenia and transient bradycardia. We sought to develop a topical soft-drug S1PR1 agonist with an improved therapeutic index.

Pharmacokinetics of β-Lactam Antibiotics: Clues from the Past To Help Discover Long-Acting Oral Drugs in the Future.

β-Lactams represent perhaps the most important class of antibiotics yet discovered. However, despite many years of active research, none of the currently approved drugs in this class combine oral activity with long duration of action. Recent developments suggest that new β-lactam antibiotics with such a profile would have utility in the treatment of tuberculosis.

Chemical synthesis, characterisation and in vitro and in vivo metabolism of the synthetic opioid MT-45 and its newly identified fluorinated analogue 2F-MT-45 with metabolite confirmation in urine samples from known drug users.

Purpose: The detection of a novel psychoactive substance, 2F-MT-45, a fluorinated analogue of the synthetic opioid MT-45, was reported in a single seized tablet. MT-45, 2F-, 3F- and 4F-MT-45 were synthesised and reference analytical data were reported. The in vitro and in vivo metabolisms of MT-45 and 2F-MT-45 were investigated.

Identification of Morpholino Thiophenes as Novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis Inhibitors, Targeting QcrB.

With the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis there is a pressing need for new oral drugs with novel mechanisms of action. Herein, we describe the identification of a novel morpholino-thiophenes (MOT) series following phenotypic screening of the Eli Lilly corporate library against M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv.

Optimization of a "bump-and-hole" approach to allele-selective BET bromodomain inhibition.

Allele-specific chemical genetics enables selective inhibition within families of highly-conserved proteins. The four BET (bromodomain & extra-terminal domain) proteins - BRD2, BRD3, BRD4 and BRDT bind acetylated chromatin their bromodomains and regulate processes such as cell proliferation and inflammation. BET bromodomains are of particular interest, as they are attractive therapeutic targets but existing inhibitors are pan-selective.

2-Mercapto-Quinazolinones as Inhibitors of Type II NADH Dehydrogenase and Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Structure-Activity Relationships, Mechanism of Action and Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion Characterization.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( MTb) possesses two nonproton pumping type II NADH dehydrogenase (NDH-2) enzymes which are predicted to be jointly essential for respiratory metabolism. Furthermore, the structure of a closely related bacterial NDH-2 has been reported recently, allowing for the structure-based design of small-molecule inhibitors. Herein, we disclose MTb whole-cell structure-activity relationships (SARs) for a series of 2-mercapto-quinazolinones which target the ndh encoded NDH-2 with nanomolar potencies.

Chemical Validation of Methionyl-tRNA Synthetase as a Druggable Target in Leishmania donovani.

Methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) has been chemically validated as a drug target in the kinetoplastid parasite Trypanosoma brucei. In the present study, we investigate the validity of this target in the related trypanosomatid Leishmania donovani. Following development of a robust high-throughput compatible biochemical assay, a compound screen identified DDD806905 as a highly potent inhibitor of LdMetRS (K of 18 nM).

Discovery and Optimization of 5-Amino-1,2,3-triazole-4-carboxamide Series against Trypanosoma cruzi.

Chagas' disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is the most common cause of cardiac-related deaths in endemic regions of Latin America. There is an urgent need for new safer treatments because current standard therapeutic options, benznidazole and nifurtimox, have significant side effects and are only effective in the acute phase of the infection with limited efficacy in the chronic phase. Phenotypic high content screening against the intracellular parasite in infected VERO cells was used to identify a novel hit series of 5-amino-1,2,3-triazole-4-carboxamides (ATC).

Potent and selective chemical probe of hypoxic signalling downstream of HIF-α hydroxylation via VHL inhibition.

Chemical strategies to using small molecules to stimulate hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) activity and trigger a hypoxic response under normoxic conditions, such as iron chelators and inhibitors of prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD) enzymes, have broad-spectrum activities and off-target effects. Here we disclose VH298, a potent VHL inhibitor that stabilizes HIF-α and elicits a hypoxic response via a different mechanism, that is the blockade of the VHL:HIF-α protein-protein interaction downstream of HIF-α hydroxylation by PHD enzymes. We show that VH298 engages with high affinity and specificity with VHL as its only major cellular target, leading to selective on-target accumulation of hydroxylated HIF-α in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion in different cell lines, with subsequent upregulation of HIF-target genes at both mRNA and protein levels.

Essential but Not Vulnerable: Indazole Sulfonamides Targeting Inosine Monophosphate Dehydrogenase as Potential Leads against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A potent, noncytotoxic indazole sulfonamide was identified by high-throughput screening of >100,000 synthetic compounds for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). This noncytotoxic compound did not directly inhibit cell wall biogenesis but triggered a slow lysis of Mtb cells as measured by release of intracellular green fluorescent protein (GFP). Isolation of resistant mutants followed by whole-genome sequencing showed an unusual gene amplification of a 40 gene region spanning from Rv3371 to Rv3411c and in one case a potential promoter mutation upstream of guaB2 (Rv3411c) encoding inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH).

The concept behind sugammadex.

Sugammadex is the first selective relaxant binding agent. It allows rapid reversal of any degree of neuromuscular blockade induced by steroidal neuromuscular blocking agents. Sugammadex acts by encapsulation of the neuromuscular blocking agent.