Introduction: Naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are central to the maintenance of peripheral tolerance. Impaired activity and/or a lower frequency of these cells lead to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Manipulating the number or activity of Treg cells is to be a promising strategy in treating it and other autoimmune diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(2)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a major polyphenolic component of green tea. A number of studies have demonstrated EGCG has the possibility for delaying the onset or retarding the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and indicated EGCG possess inhibition of β-secretase activity. We utilized homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assay with a substrate Eu-CEVNLDAEFK-Qsy7 to screen β-secretase inhibitor in a cell-free system and AlphaLISA assay in cell system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBy modifying the chemical structure of anti-orthopoxvirus compound ST-246, we designed and synthesized a series of tricyclononene carboxamide derivatives and tested their anti-HIV-1 activity and cytotoxicity. We found that benzoimidazol-containing compound 7g was highly effective in inhibiting HIV-1 R5 infection with an IC(50) value of 0.41 microM and a selectivity index of 292, but it exhibited no significant inhibitory activity on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper is to establish a reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography (RP-IPC) method for universal estimation of the octanol/water partition coefficients (logP) of a wide range of structurally diverse compounds including acidic, basic, neutral and amphoteric species. The retention factors corresponding to 100% water (logk(w)) were derived from the linear part of the logk'/phi relationship, using at least four isocratic logk' values containing different organic compositions. The logk(w) parameters obtained were close to the corresponding logP values obtained with the standard "shake flask" methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZC88 is a novel non-peptide N-type voltage-sensitive calcium channel blocker synthesized by our institute. In the present study, the oral analgesic activity of ZC88 in animal models of acute and neuropathic pain, and functional interactions between ZC88 and morphine in terms of analgesia, tolerance and dependence were investigated. In mice acetic acid writhing tests, ZC88 (10-80 mg/kg) administered by oral route showed significant antinociceptive effects in a dose-dependent manner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo prepare transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) of felodipine and metoprolol and to study its pharmaceutical characteristics, pharmacokinetics and bioavailability in rabbits, an HPLC assay was established for the simultaneous determination of felodipine and metoprolol in the permeation receptor and patch. The permeation rate and permeation mechanism of felodipine-metoprolol-TDDS through rabbit skin in vitro was examined. The determination of drug content, the examination of content uniformity and stability of the TDDS were carried out.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLinomide is an immunomodulator that can effectively inhibit the development of several autoimmune diseases in animal models. Previously, linomide was shown to influence macrophage function, although the mechanism was elusive. In this study, we investigated the effect of linomide on the macrophage inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro on the murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel class of chiral melamine derivatives has been designed and synthesized. The ability of these compounds to perform chiral recognition toward 19 natural chiral alpha-amino acids has been investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the first time. The enantioselectivities of these new chiral selectors are encouraging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Chemother Pharmacol
January 2006
Purpose: To investigate the levels of raltitrexed (RTX) in blood and different brain tissues in rats and to find out whether there is any direct drug transport from nasal cavity to brain tissues following intranasal (i.n.) administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of novel quinoline-3-carboxamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their immunomodulatory activity. The compounds were tested in vitro for effects on spleen lymphocyte proliferation and TNF-alpha production by macrophage. Three compounds showed immunomodulatory profiles similar to and more potent than those of linomide and FR137316 and were selected for further pharmacological studies in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF6(A)-(2-Aminoethylamino)-6(A)-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin (CDen) was synthesized and formed a binary complex with Cu(II) which was shown to be an effective chiral selector for separation of underivatized amino acid enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis (CE). Moreover, the chiral resolution was greatly enhanced by the presence of polyethyl glycol (PEG) and tert-butyl alcohol in the running buffer. The optimum experimental conditions were 20 mmol/L CDen, 20 mmol/L CuSO(4).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of 4-alkylamino-1-hydroxymethylimidazo[1,2-a]quinoxalines have been synthesized and evaluated for their adenosine A(1) receptor inhibitory activity in the radioligand binding assays. The compounds were tested for the inhibition percent (IP) and the affinity toward A(1)AR (K(i)) that IP were more than 90% in the nanomolar range. 4-Cyclopentylamino-7,8-dichloro-1-hydroxymethylimidazo[1,2-a]quinoxaline 18 is the most potent compound in this series, having K(i)=7nM, which is remarkably higher than that of IRFI-165 (K(i)=48).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo types of lead structures for selective agonists of ETA, a biological target not yet fully elucidated, has first been discovered via diversity-guided pharmacophore simplification and simulation. And it is first demonstrated that potent selective ETA agonists might be useful for protection of endothelium and for prophylaxis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases with endothelial dysfunction such as atherosclerosis and thrombosis.
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