Sunflower seed-derived bioactive peptides show antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity: From in silico simulation to the animal model.

The evolving field of food technology is increasingly dedicated to developing functional foods. This study explored bioactive peptides from sunflower protein isolate (SPI), obtained from defatted flour, a by-product of the oil processing industry. SPI underwent simulated gastrointestinal digestion and the obtained peptide-enriched fraction (PEF) showed antioxidant properties in vivo, in zebrafish.

Fighting Infections: Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of D-Q53 CecB, a Synthetic Analog of a Silkworm Natural Cecropin B Variant.

is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacterium responsible for severe nosocomial infections and is considered a critical pulmonary pathogen for both immunocompromised and cystic fibrosis patients. Planktonic cells of possess intrinsic and acquired resistances, inactivating several classes of conventional antibiotics. Additionally, this bacterium can grow, forming biofilms, and complex structures, further hampering the action of multiple antibiotics.

Epitope-Specific Anti-SerpinB3 Antibodies for SerpinB3 Recognition and Biological Activity Inhibition.

SerpinB3 is a serine protease inhibitor that plays a relevant role in disease progression and cancer by increasing fibrosis, cell proliferation, and invasion, besides conferring resistance to apoptosis. The mechanisms underlying these biological activities are not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to generate antibodies directed against different SerpinB3 epitopes to better investigate their biological role.

The ataxia-linked E1081Q mutation affects the sub-plasma membrane Ca-microdomains by tuning PMCA3 activity.

Calcium concentration must be finely tuned in all eukaryotic cells to ensure the correct performance of its signalling function. Neuronal activity is exquisitely dependent on the control of Ca homeostasis: its alterations ultimately play a pivotal role in the origin and progression of many neurodegenerative processes. A complex toolkit of Ca pumps and exchangers maintains the fluctuation of cytosolic Ca concentration within the appropriate threshold.

Fermented Soy-Derived Bioactive Peptides Selected by a Molecular Docking Approach Show Antioxidant Properties Involving the Keap1/Nrf2 Pathway.

Bioactive peptides are a group of molecules with health beneficial properties, deriving from food matrices. They are protein fragments consisting of 2-20 amino acids that can be released by microbial fermentation, food processing and gastrointestinal digestion. Once hydrolyzed from their native proteins, they can have different functions including antioxidant activity, which is important for cell protection by oxidant agents.

Identification of New Peptides from Fermented Milk Showing Antioxidant Properties: Mechanism of Action.

Due to their beneficial properties, fermented foods are considered important constituents of the human diet. They also contain bioactive peptides, health-promoting compounds studied for a wide range of effects. In this work, several antioxidant peptides extracted from fermented milk proteins were investigated.

Simulated human digestion of N1-aryl-2-arylthioacetamidobenzimidazoles and their activity against Herpes-simplex virus 1 in vitro.

Drug performance in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) plays a crucial role in determining release and absorption. In the present work, we assessed the in vitro digestion of two synthetic N1-aryl-2-arylthioacetamidobenzimidazoles (NAABs), NAAB-496 and NAAB-503, using bio-relevant models of the human stomach and small intestine. The activity of NAAB-496 and NAAB-503 against herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) replication was also investigated.

Insight into antioxidant properties of milk-derived bioactive peptides in vitro and in a cellular model.

Milk is a nutritionally important source of bioactive peptides with anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anticancer, and antioxidant properties. These compounds can be useful as ingredients of functional food. For this reason, in the last decades, bioactive peptides attracted the interest of researchers and food companies.

Exploring structural properties of potent human carbonic anhydrase inhibitors bearing a 4-(cycloalkylamino-1-carbonyl)benzenesulfonamide moiety.

Guided by the crystal structure of 4-(3,4-dihydroquinolin-1(2H)-ylcarbonyl)benzenesulfonamide 3 in complex with hCA II (PDB code 4Z0Q), a novel series of cycloalkylamino-1-carbonylbenzenesulfonamides was designed and synthesized. Thus, we replaced the quinoline ring with an azepine/piperidine/piperazine nucleus and introduced further modifications on cycloalkylamine nucleus by means the installation of hydrophobic/hydrophilic functionalities able to establish additional contacts in the middle area of the enzyme cavity. Among the synthesized compounds, the derivatives 7a, 7b, 8b exhibited a remarkable inhibition for hCA II and the brain-expressed hCA VII in subnanomolar range.

Graphene Quantum Dots Based Systems As HIV Inhibitors.

Graphene quantum dots (GQD) are the next generation of nanomaterials with great potential in drug delivery and target-specific HIV inhibition. In this study we investigated the antiviral activity of graphene based nanomaterials by using water-soluble GQD synthesized from multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) through prolonged acidic oxidation and exfoliation and compared their anti-HIV activity with that exerted by reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTI) conjugated with the same nanomaterial. The antiretroviral agents chosen in this study, CHI499 and CDF119, belong to the class of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI).

Identification of influenza PA-Nter endonuclease inhibitors using pharmacophore- and docking-based virtual screening.

Searching for new antiviral agents, we focused our interest on the influenza PA-Nter endonuclease. Therefore, we developed a three-dimensional pharmacophore model which contains the binding features addressed to the metal-chelating active site. The obtained hypothesis has been fruitfully employed to select three "hit compounds" through an in silico screening campaign on our in-house database of small molecules.

Discovery of benzimidazole-based Leishmania mexicana cysteine protease CPB2.8ΔCTE inhibitors as potential therapeutics for leishmaniasis.

Chemotherapy is currently the only effective approach to treat all forms of leishmaniasis. However, its effectiveness is severely limited due to high toxicity, long treatment length, drug resistance, or inadequate mode of administration. As a consequence, there is a need to identify new molecular scaffolds and targets as potential therapeutics for the treatment of this disease.

A V1143F mutation in the neuronal-enriched isoform 2 of the PMCA pump is linked with ataxia.

The fine regulation of intracellular calcium is fundamental for all eukaryotic cells. In neurons, Ca oscillations govern the synaptic development, the release of neurotransmitters and the expression of several genes. Alterations of Ca homeostasis were found to play a pivotal role in neurodegenerative progression.

Targeting Tyrosinase: Development and Structural Insights of Novel Inhibitors Bearing Arylpiperidine and Arylpiperazine Fragments.

The inhibition of tyrosinase (Ty, EC 1.14.18.

Structural optimization of N-aryl-benzimidazoles for the discovery of new non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors active against wild-type and mutant HIV-1 strains.

Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) are recommended components of preferred combination antiretroviral therapies used for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. These regimens are extremely effective in suppressing virus replication. Recently, our research group identified some N-aryl-2-arylthioacetamido-benzimidazoles as a novel class of NNRTIs.

Inhibitory effects and structural insights for a novel series of coumarin-based compounds that selectively target human CA IX and CA XII carbonic anhydrases.

Coumarin derivatives are a peculiar class of inhibitors of the family of metalloenzymes carbonic anhydrases (CA, EC 4.2.1.

Searching for novel N-substituted benzimidazol-2-ones as non-nucleoside HIV-1 RT inhibitors.

Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) represent an integral part of the currently available combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) contributing to reduce the AIDS-mortality and turned the disease from lethal to chronic. In this context we recently reported a series of 6-chloro-1-(3-methylphenylsulfonyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-ones as potent non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors. In this paper, we describe the design and the synthesis of two novel series of benzimidazolone analogues in which the linker moiety between the phenyl ring and the sulfonyl group was modified and new small lipophilic groups on the benzyl sulfonyl pendant were introduced.

Probing Molecular Interactions between Human Carbonic Anhydrases (hCAs) and a Novel Class of Benzenesulfonamides.

On the basis of X-ray crystallographic studies of the complex of hCA II with 4-(3,4-dihydro-1H-isoquinoline-2-carbonyl)benzenesulfonamide (3) (PDB code 4Z1J ), a novel series of 4-(1-aryl-3,4-dihydro-1H-isoquinolin-2-carbonyl)benzenesulfonamides (23-33) was designed. Specifically, our idea was to improve the selectivity toward druggable isoforms through the introduction of additional hydrophobic/hydrophilic functionalities. Among the synthesized and tested compounds, the (R,S)-4-(6,7-dihydroxy-1-phenyl-3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-1H-2-carbonyl)benzenesulfonamide (30) exhibited a remarkable inhibition for the brain-expressed hCA VII (K = 0.

Chemical exploration of 4-(4-fluorobenzyl)piperidine fragment for the development of new tyrosinase inhibitors.

Tyrosinase is involved in the production of melanin through the hydroxylation of monophenols to o-diphenols. The role of this enzyme was extensively studied in order to identify new therapeutics preventing skin pigmentation and melanoma. In this work we initially identified the 3-(4-benzylpiperidin-1-yl)-1-(1H-indol-3-yl)propan-1-one (1a) as promising mushroom tyrosinase inhibitor (IC = 252 μM).

Rational Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Coumarin Derivatives as Protein-protein Interaction Inhibitors.

Herein we describe the design and synthesis of a new series of coumarin derivatives searching for novel HIV-1 integrase (IN) allosteric inhibitors. All new obtained compounds were tested in order to evaluate their ability to inhibit the interaction between the HIV-1 IN enzyme and the nuclear protein lens epithelium growth factor LEDGF/p75. A combined approach of docking and molecular dynamic simulations has been applied to clarify the activity of the new compounds.

Computational and synthetic approaches for developing Lavendustin B derivatives as allosteric inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase.

Through structure-based virtual screening and subsequent activity assays of selected natural products, Lavendustin B was previously identified as an inhibitor of HIV-1 integrase (IN) interaction with its cognate cellular cofactor, lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75). In order to improve the inhibitory potency we have employed in silico-based approaches. Particularly, a series of new analogues was designed and docked into the LEDGF/p75 binding pocket of HIV-1 IN.

In Vivo Evaluation of Selective Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors as Potential Anticonvulsant Agents.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder caused by an imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission. It is well known that neuronal excitability is related to γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic depolarization. HCO3 (-) -dependent depolarization can be suppressed by membrane-permeable inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase.

Structure-guided design of new indoles as negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) containing GluN2B subunit.

Negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) of GluN2B-containing NMDARs provide pharmacological tools for the treatment of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Novel NAMs have been designed on the basis of computational studies focused on the 'hit compound' 3. This series of indoles has been tested in competition assay.

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: Design, synthesis and structural characterization of new heteroaryl-N-carbonylbenzenesulfonamides targeting druggable human carbonic anhydrase isoforms.

A set of heteroaryl-N-carbonylbenzenesulfonamides has been designed, synthesized, and screened as inhibitors of human carbonic anhydrases (hCAs). The new sulfonamide derivatives were tested against hCA I, hCA II, hCA VII, hCA IX, and hCA XII isoforms using acetazolamide (AAZ, 1) and topiramate (TPM, 2) as reference compounds. Six compounds were low nanomolar inhibitors of tumor-associated hCA IX isoform (Ki values < 10 nM); among them we identified three arylsulfonamides showing unexpected inefficacy over brain distributed hCA VII isoform (hCA IX/hCA VII selectivity ratio > 1500 for compound 5c).