Search results for "Small Molecule"
showing 10 items of 197 documents
Presenilin is the molecular target of acidic γ-secretase modulators in living cells.
2012
The intramembrane-cleaving protease γ-secretase catalyzes the last step in the generation of toxic amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides and is a principal therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease. Both preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that inhibition of γ-secretase is associated with prohibitive side effects due to suppression of Notch processing and signaling. Potentially safer are γ-secretase modulators (GSMs), which are small molecules that selectively lower generation of the highly amyloidogenic Aβ42 peptides but spare Notch processing. GSMs with nanomolar potency and favorable pharmacological properties have been described, but the molecular mechanism of GSMs remains uncertain an…
Interacting induced dipoles polarization model for molecular polarizabilities. Reference molecules, amino acids and model peptides
1999
Abstract We outline a method for the calculation of molecular dipole ( μ ) and quadrupole ( Θ = ) moments and dipole–dipole polarizabilities ( α = ) which we have successfully applied to a series of reference molecules, amino acids and model peptides. The results for μ are in line with CPHF reference calculations. In particular, the calculated positive value of CO is in agreement with both experimental and CI calculations. The computation of ( α = ) has been performed by the interacting induced dipoles polarization model that calculates tensor effective anisotropic point polarizabilities (method of Applequist et al.). The POLAR program cannot be used as a black box. Some tests should be per…
Studies on supramolecular gel formation using DOSY NMR
2015
Herein, we present the results obtained from our studies on supramolecular self-assembly and molecular mobility of low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) in organic solvents using pulsed field gradient (PFG) diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) NMR. A series of concentration-dependent DOSY NMR experiments were performed on selected LMWGs to determine the critical gelation concentration (CGC) as well as to understand the behaviour of the gelator molecules in the gel state. In addition, variable-temperature DOSY NMR experiments were performed to determine the gel-to-sol transition. The PFG NMR experiments performed as a function of gradient strength were further analyzed using monoexponential…
How to untie G-quadruplex knots and why?
2021
International audience; For over two decades, the prime objective of the chemical biology community studying G-quadruplexes (G4s) has been to use chemicals to interact with and stabilize G4s in cells to obtain mechanistic interpretations. This strategy has been undoubtedly successful, as demonstrated by recent advances. However, these insights have also led to a fundamental rethinking of G4-targeting strategies: due to the prevalence of G4s in the human genome, transcriptome, and ncRNAome (collectively referred to as the G4ome), and their involvement in human diseases, should we continue developing G4-stabilizing ligands or should we invest in designing molecular tools to unfold G4s? Here, …
Natural Products Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine as Novel Inhibitors of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor
2010
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has become an important molecular target in cancer therapy. Various small molecules and therapeutic antibodies targeting EGFR family members have been developed during recent years and are established in clinical oncology. However, increasing clinical application of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors has resulted in the development of resistance to EGFR-targeting drugs due to the selection of EGFR-mutated variants. This phenomenon forced the search for novel EGFR inhibitors with activity towards EGFR-mutant tumors. This review describes recent achievements in natural products derived from medicinal plants as novel EGFR inhibitors.
Probing the role of water in protein conformation and function
2004
Life began in a bath of water and has never escaped it. Cellular function has forced the evolution of many mechanisms ensuring that cellular water concentration has never changed significantly. To free oneself of any conceptual distinction among all small molecules, solutes and solvents, means that experiments to probe water's specific role in molecular function can be designed like any classical chemical reaction. Such an ‘osmotic stress’ strategy will be described in general and for an enzyme, hexokinase. Water behaves like a reactant that competes with glucose in binding to hexokinase, and modulates its conformational change and activity. This ‘osmotic stress’ strategy, now applied to ma…
Basis Set Convergence of Indirect Spin-Spin Coupling Constants in the Kohn-Sham Limit for Several Small Molecules
2012
The performance of more than 40 density functionals in predicting indirect spin-spin coupling constants (SSCCs) in the Kohn-Sham basis set limit was tested. For comparison, similar calculations were performed using the RHF, SOPPA, SOPPA(CC2), and SOPPA(CCSD) methods, and the results were estimated toward the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The SSCCs of nine small molecules (N(2), CO, CO(2), NH(3), CH(4), C(2)H(2), C(2)H(4), C(2)H(6), and C(6)H(6)) were calculated using the dedicated Jensen pcJ-n polarization-consistent basis sets and used for the CBS limit estimations within the Kohn-Sham limit. These CBS results were compared with calculations using the aug-cc-pVTZ-J basis set. Among the 4…
Tetrahedra from Aryleneethenylenes – From small Molecules to Luminescent Glasses
2004
AbstractThe fourfold Horner olefination of tetraphenylmethane or –silane with fourp-methyl- phosphonate groups and a variety of aromatic aldehydes with donor groups or extended conjugated systems results in the formation of tetrahedra from four chromophores connected via a central atom. Electronic spectra in solution reveal an electronic interaction between the π-systems. In the solid state, the emission of compounds with a dense packing is nearly identical to the solution spectra, more open structures show significant red shifts. The emission of scaffolds with 1-styrylpyrene chromophores is nearly completely quenched. Most of these tetrahedra are thermally stable up to 420°C. Depending on …
Furocoumarins as multi-target agents in the treatment of cystic fibrosis.
2019
Multi-target molecular entities, offer a path to progress both in understanding causes of disease and in defining effective small molecule treatments. Coumarin and its derivatives belong to an important group of natural compounds with diverse biological properties. They are found in vegetables and plants for which literature reports thousands of publications for the great variety of biological applications among which the photoprotective effects, thus being considered multi-targeting agents. Their furan condensed analogues constitute the family of furocoumarins, less represented in the literature, endowed with photosensitizing properties and often used for the treatment of skin diseases suc…
TWJ-Screen: an isothermal screening assay to assess ligand/DNA junction interactions in vitro
2017
International audience; The quest for chemicals able to operate at selected genomic loci in a spatiotemporally controlled manner is desirable to create manageable DNA damages. Mounting evidence now shows that alternative DNA structures, including G-quadruplexes and branched DNA (or DNA junctions), might hamper proper progression of replication fork, thus triggering DNA damages and genomic instability. Therefore, small molecules that stabilize these DNA structures are currently scrutinized as a promising way to create genomic defects that cannot be dealt with properly by cancer cells. While much emphasis has been recently given to G-quadruplexes and related ligands, we report herein on three…