The importance of plasma protein and tissue binding in a drug discovery program to successfully deliver a preclinical candidate

Investigating bilirubin concentrations in schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder characterized by chronic disability and poor quality of life, has been shown to be associated with alterations in redox balance. Recent research has suggested a potential link between the antioxidant bilirubin and schizophrenia, although findings have been inconsistent. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate possible alterations in bilirubin concentrations in schizophrenia. A comprehensive search of major databases was conducted to identify articles reporting total and unconjugated bilirubin in schizophrenic patients and healthy controls in case-control studies. Our meta-analysis included 18 studies investigating 16,245 participants. The pooled results did not reveal any significant association between schizophrenia and total bilirubin concentrations. Additionally, such effect was strongly influenced by the results of a single study in sensitivity analysis. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses based on various factors such as study design, sample size, and geographical region showed no significant associations with the effect size, nor they identified sources of heterogeneity. Furthermore, publication bias assessments were conducted to ensure the robustness of the findings. Overall, our findings summarize the available evidence regarding the possible role of bilirubin as a biomarker of schizophrenia and highlight the importance of conducting further research in this area.

Deuterium Editing of Small Molecules: A Case Study on Antitumor Activity of 1,4-Benzodiazepine-2,5-dione Derivatives

Substituting hydrogen with deuterium in drug molecules is an appealing bioisosteric strategy for the generation of novel chemical entities in drug development. Optimizing lead compounds through deuteration has proven to be challenging and unpredictable, particularly for compounds with multiple metabolic sites. This study presents the pioneering achievement of substituting up to 19 hydrogen atoms with deuterium on 1,4-benzodiazepine-2,5-dione derivatives, shedding light on the structure-metabolism relationship and the impact of multiple deuterations on drug-like properties. Notably, the deuterated compound 3f exhibited remarkable antitumor activity in vivo and demonstrated favorable drug-like properties as a drug candidate.

Dalbergia sissoo phytochemicals as EGFR inhibitors: an in vitro and in silico approach

The safest and most effective sources of medications are natural and traditional medicines derived from plants and herbs. In Western India, various parts of the Dalbergia sissoo plant, which belongs to the Fabaceae family, have been traditionally used to treat different types of cancer by the local tribes. However, this claim has not been scientifically proven yet. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the antioxidant (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity) and anticancer effects of different plant extracts from Dalbergia sissoo bark, root, and branch on six different cancer cell lines (K562, PC3, A431, A549, NCIH 460, and HEK 293 T) using in vitro cell viability and cytotoxicity assays. The study also involved in silico docking, MD simulation, and ADME studies of previously reported bioactive compounds from the same parts of the plant to confirm their bioactivity. The DPPH radical scavenging experiment findings showed that the methanol: water extract of the bark had a more significant antioxidant activity IC50 (45.63 ± 1.24 mg/mL). Furthermore, the extract prevented the growth of the A431, A549, and NCIH 460 cancer cell lines with the lowest IC50 values of 15.37, 29.09, and 17.02 g/mL, respectively, demonstrating remarkable anticancer potential. Molecular docking and dynamic simulation studies revealed that Prunetin, Tectorigenin, and Prunetin 4'-O-Galactoside show efficient binding to the EGFR binding domain. This study suggests that tested hits may have antioxidant and anticancer agents and can be considered for future applications in the pharma sector.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Late-Stage Functionalization of Living Organisms: Rethinking Selectivity in Biology

With unlimited selectivity, full post-translational chemical control of biology would circumvent the dogma of genetic control. The resulting direct manipulation of organisms would enable atomic-level precision in "editing" of function. We argue that a key aspect that is still missing in our ability to do this (at least with a high degree of control) is the selectivity of a given chemical reaction in a living organism. In this Review, we systematize existing illustrative examples of chemical selectivity, as well as identify needed chemical selectivities set in a hierarchy of anatomical complexity: organismo- (selectivity for a given organism over another), tissuo- (selectivity for a given tissue type in a living organism), cellulo- (selectivity for a given cell type in an organism or tissue), and organelloselectivity (selectivity for a given organelle or discrete body within a cell). Finally, we analyze more traditional concepts such as regio-, chemo-, and stereoselective reactions where additionally appropriate. This survey of late-stage biomolecule methods emphasizes, where possible, functional consequences (i.e., biological function). In this way, we explore a concept of late-stage functionalization of living organisms (where "late" is taken to mean at a given state of an organism in time) in which programmed and selective chemical reactions take place in life. By building on precisely analyzed notions (e.g., mechanism and selectivity) we believe that the logic of chemical methodology might ultimately be applied to increasingly complex molecular constructs in biology. This could allow principles developed at the simple, small-molecule level to progress hierarchically even to manipulation of physiology.

Developments in on-line, post separation sample manipulation in the last 22 years: Pharmaceutical and biomedical applications

On-line post separation sample manipulation is a powerful approach increasing the sensitivity and selectivity in chemical analysis. Post separation sample manipulation includes the treatment of the analytes after their separation through a suitable separation technique, mainly liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Typically, post separation approaches include either the addition of a reagent/solvent to derivatize the analyte/enhance the sensitivity, pH change, or the conversion of the analyte through a photochemical/electrochemical system (reagent-free systems). This review focuses on the developed methods using post-column manipulation of sample with pharmaceuticals and biomedical applications, covering the period from 2000 to midle-2023. Chemistries combined with fluorescence, UV-vis and mass spectrometric detection are discussed employing both liquid chromatography and electrophoretic techniques for separation. Noteworthy instrumental modifications are also discussed.

Synthesis and Structure-Activity Relationships of a New Class of Oxadiazoles Targeting DprE1 as Antitubercular Agents

The continuing prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis threatens global TB control programs, highlighting the need to discover new drug candidates to feed the drug development pipeline. In this study, we describe a high-throughput screening hit (4-benzylpiperidin-1-yl)(1-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl)methanone (P1) as a potent antitubercular agent. Structure-activity guided synthesis led to the discovery of several analogs with high in vitro potency. P1 was found to have promising potency against many drug-resistant strains, as well as drug-susceptible clinical isolates. It also showed cidality against Mtb growing in host macrophages. Whole genome sequencing of genomic DNA from resistant mutants raised to P1 revealed mutations in decaprenylphosphoryl-β-d-ribose 2'-oxidase (DprE1). This novel oxadiazole scaffold expands the set of chemical tools for targeting a well-validated pathway to treat tuberculosis.

Molecular Recognition Study toward the Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain Inhibitor Mubritinib and Human Serum Albumin

The ability to bind plasma proteins helps in comprehending relevant aspects related to the pharmacological properties of many drugs. Despite the vital role of the drug mubritinib (MUB) in the prophylaxis of various diseases, its interaction with carrier proteins still needs to be clarified. The present work focuses on the interaction between MUB and Human serum albumin (HSA), investigated by employing multispectroscopic, biochemical, and molecular docking approaches. The results reveal that MUB has quenched HSA intrinsic fluorescence (following a static mechanism) by attaching very close (r = 6.76 Å) and with moderate affinity (Kb ≈ 104 M-1) to the protein site I (mainly by H-bonds, hydrophobic and Van der Waals forces). On one side, the HSA-MUB interaction has been accompanied by a slight disturbance in the HSA chemical environment (around the Trp residue) and protein secondary structure modifications. On another side, MUB competitively inhibits HSA esterase-like activity, which is very similar to other Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and evidence that protein functional alterations have been triggered by MUB interaction. In summary, all of the presented observations can shed light on diverse pharmacological factors associated with drug administration.