Effects of losartan and l-serine in a mouse liver fibrosis model.

Hepatic fibrosis is a common liver disease caused by excessive collagen deposition in the liver. Since liver transplantation is the only current treatment for cirrhosis with worsened fibrosis, a new strategy to develop anti-fibrosis drugs with no adverse effects is necessary. In recent studies, amino acids have been applied as a type of therapy in various fields.

Evaluation of class I HDAC isoform selectivity of largazole analogues.

Largazole is a potent class I selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. The majority of largazole analogues to date have modified the thiazole-thiazoline and the warhead moiety. In order to elucidate class I-specific structure-activity relationships, a series of analogues with modifications in the valine or the linker region were prepared and evaluated for their class I isoform selectivity.

Anticolon cancer activity of largazole, a marine-derived tunable histone deacetylase inhibitor.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are validated targets for anticancer therapy as attested by the approval of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and romidepsin (FK228) for treating cutaneous T cell lymphoma. We recently described the bioassay-guided isolation, structure determination, synthesis, and target identification of largazole, a marine-derived antiproliferative natural product that is a prodrug that releases a potent HDAC inhibitor, largazole thiol. Here, we characterize the anticancer activity of largazole by using in vitro and in vivo cancer models.