Identification and Characterizations of Novel, Selective Histone Methyltransferase SET7 Inhibitors by Scaffold Hopping- and 2D-Molecular Fingerprint-Based Similarity Search.

SET7, serving as the only histone methyltransferase that monomethylates 'Lys-4' of histone H3, has been proved to function as a key regulator in diverse biological processes, such as cell proliferation, transcriptional network regulation in embryonic stem cell, cell cycle control, protein stability, heart morphogenesis and development. What's more, SET7 is involved inthe pathogenesis of alopecia aerate, breast cancer, tumor and cancer progression, atherosclerosis in human carotid plaques, chronic renal diseases, diabetes, obesity, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, there is urgent need to develop novel SET7 inhibitors.

Discovery of alkyl bis(oxy)dibenzimidamide derivatives as novel protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) inhibitors.

Protein arginine methylation, a post-translational modification critical for a variety of biological processes, is catalyzed by protein arginine N-methyltransferases (PRMTs). In particular, PRMT1 is responsible for over 85% of the arginine methylation in mammalian cells. Dysregulation of PRMT1 is involved in diverse pathological diseases including cancers.

NMR-based platform for fragment-based lead discovery used in screening BRD4-targeted compounds.

Aim: Fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD) is a complementary approach in drug research and development. In this study, we established an NMR-based FBLD platform that was used to screen novel scaffolds targeting human bromodomain of BRD4, and investigated the binding interactions between hit compounds and the target protein.

Methods: 1D NMR techniques were primarily used to generate the fragment library and to screen compounds.

Cordyceps sinensis protects against liver and heart injuries in a rat model of chronic kidney disease: a metabolomic analysis.

Aim: To test the hypothesis that the traditional Chinese medicine Cordyceps sinensis could improve the metabolic function of extrarenal organs to achieve its anti-chronic kidney disease (CKD) effects.

Methods: Male SD rats were divided into CKD rats (with 5/6-nephrectomy), CKD rats treated with Cordyceps sinensis (4 mg•kg-1•d-1, po), and sham-operated rats. After an 8-week treatment, metabolites were extracted from the hearts and livers of the rats, and then subjected to (1)H-NMR-based metabolomic analysis.