Discovery of oxime-bearing naphthalene derivatives as a novel structural type of Nrf2 activators

UV-responsive AKBA@ZnO nanoparticles potential for polymorphous light eruption protection and therapy

Polymorphous light eruption (PLE) is one of the acquired idiopathic photodermatosis mainly induced by immoderate UV radiation. In order to realize UV protection and medicine administration simultaneously for polymorphous light eruption protection and therapy, Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) loaded Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles of which drug release behavior is UV-controlled has been successfully synthesized. Such nanoparticles can not only reflect UV but also transfer the energy to release AKBA which presents an excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, they are biocompatible to HaCaT cells. As a result, they have a great potential in combining UV protection and medicine administration simultaneously for PLE protection and therapy.

Identification of new inhibitors against human Great wall kinase using in silico approaches

Microtubule associated serine/threonine kinase (MASTL) is an important Ser/Thr kinase belonging to the family of AGC kinases. It is the human orthologue of Greatwall kinase (Gwl) that plays a significant role in mitotic progression and cell cycle regulation. Upregulation of MASTL in various cancers and its association with poor patient survival establishes it as an important drug target in cancer therapy. Nevertheless, the target remains unexplored with the paucity of studies focused on identification of inhibitors against MASTL, which emphasizes the relevance of our present study. We explored various drug databases and performed virtual screening of compounds from both natural and synthetic sources. A list of promising compounds displaying high binding characteristics towards MASTL protein is reported. Among the natural compounds, we found a 6-hydroxynaphthalene derivative ZINC85597499 to display best binding energy value of −9.32 kcal/mol. While among synthetic compounds, a thieno-pyrimidinone based tricyclic derivative ZINC53845290 compound exhibited best binding affinity of value −7.85 kcal/mol. MASTL interactions with these two compounds were further explored using molecular dynamics simulations. Altogether, this study identifies potential inhibitors of human Gwl kinase from both natural and synthetic origin and calls for studying these compounds as potential drugs for cancer therapy.

New hybrid bromopyridine-chalcones as in vivo phase II enzyme inducers: potential chemopreventive agents

We report the synthesis of eighteen new potential cancer chemopreventive agents, structurally designed to combine (naphtho)chalcone and (bromo)pyridine skeletons.

The Nrf2/HO-1 Axis in Cancer Cell Growth and Chemoresistance

The transcription factor, nuclear factor erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2), acts as a sensor of oxidative or electrophilic stresses and plays a pivotal role in redox homeostasis. Oxidative or electrophilic agents cause a conformational change in the Nrf2 inhibitory protein Keap1 inducing the nuclear translocation of the transcription factor which, through its binding to the antioxidant/electrophilic response element (ARE/EpRE), regulates the expression of antioxidant and detoxifying genes such as heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). Nrf2 and HO-1 are frequently upregulated in different types of tumours and correlate with tumour progression, aggressiveness, resistance to therapy, and poor prognosis. This review focuses on the Nrf2/HO-1 stress response mechanism as a promising target for anticancer treatment which is able to overcome resistance to therapies.