Publications by authors named "Nikola Despotovic"

Obesity is a global epidemic in developed countries accounting for many of the metabolic and cardiorespiratory morbidities that occur in adults. These morbidities include type 2 diabetes, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), obstructive sleep apnea, chronic intermittent hypoxia, and hypertension. Leptin, produced by adipocytes, is a master regulator of metabolism and of many other biological functions including central and peripheral circuits that control breathing.

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The enzyme enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) plays a catalytic role in histone methylation (H3K27me3), one of the epigenetic modifications that is dysregulated in cancer. The development of a positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent targeting EZH2 has the potential to provide a method of stratifying patients for epigenetic therapies. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of fluoroethyl analogs based upon the structure of EZH2 inhibitors UNC1999 and EPZ6438.

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