Mechanism of motoneuronal and pyramidal cell death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and its potential therapeutic modulation.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder clinically characterized by muscle atrophy and progressive paralysis. Loss of motoneurons and pyramidal cells is thought to be the center piece of the complex and multifaceted ALS pathology, however, the exact mechanisms laying behind motoneuronal cell death in the spinal cord and motor cortex are still unknown. It was originally proposed that apoptosis plays a fundamental role in motoneuronal demise, nonetheless, later it became clear that other forms of regulated cell death, including necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and autophagy-dependent cell death, may also contribute to motoneuron loss. Over the past years, multiple studies aimed to improve our understanding of the contributory role of these mechanisms as well as to offer novel targets for potential therapeutic interventions. The pharmacological inhibition of the ferroptotic pathway and the modulation of the autophagic machinery seem to have particularly promising effects, reducing motoneuron loss and slowing disease progression in transgenic models of ALS. Nevertheless, the potential beneficial effects of necroptosis-targeting interventions were mostly disproven in the latest studies. In this review we aim to summarize the current view on regulated cell death mechanisms that lead to motoneuronal and pyramidal cell degeneration in ALS and showcase their applicability as future drug targets.

A click approach to novel D-ring-substituted 16α-triazolylestrone derivatives and characterization of their antiproliferative properties.

A simple and efficient synthesis of novel, D-ring substituted estrone derivatives containing a 16α-triazolyl moiety is described. Two epimeric azido alcohols (16α-azido-17α-hydroxy and 16α-azido-17ß-hydroxy) of estra-1,3,5(10)-triene-3-methyl ether were prepared, followed by copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition with various terminal alkynes. The steroidal triazoles were obtained in high yields and their activities against three human cancer cell lines (HeLa, MCF7 and A431) were screened. The most effective analogs were submitted to additional experiments in order to characterize their antiproliferative properties. As evidenced by flow cytometry, the selected steroids induced a disturbance in the HeLa cell cycle in a concentration- and exposure-dependent manner, through an increase of the hypodiploid population (subG1) and a cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. A noncancerous human fibroblast cell line (MRC5) was used to determine the selectivities of these compounds. Fluorescent microscopy after Hoechst 33258 - propidium iodide (HOPI) double staining revealed nuclear condensation and disturbed cell membrane integrity. The enhanced activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 without activation of caspase-8 in the treated cells indicated the activation of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. The levels of cell cycle regulators (CDK1, cyclin B1/B2 and cdc25B) were decreased and the ratio Bax/Bcl-2 was increased 24 h after the treatment of HeLa cells (determined at an mRNA level by means of an RT-PCR technique). Under the same conditions, two agents elicited substantially increased degrees of phosphorylation of stathmin, as evidenced by Western blotting. The presented results demonstrate that these steroids can be regarded as appropriate structural scaffolds for the design and synthesis of further steroid analogs as innovative drug candidates with good efficacy.

Regio- and stereoselective access to novel ring-condensed steroidal isoxazolines.

Novel 5α-androstanes containing an isoxazoline moiety condensed to ring A or D were efficiently synthetized by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of aryl nitrile oxides to steroidal α,ß-unsaturated ketones. During the ring closures, regioisomers in which the O terminus of the nitrile oxide dipoles is attached to the ß-carbon of the dipolarophile were formed in a stereoselective manner to furnish exclusively 1α,2α- or 15ß,16ß-condensed heterocycles. The cyclic enone moiety of the six-membered ring A proved to be less reactive than that of the five-membered ring D, but all the reactions were affected significantly by the substitution pattern of the nitrile oxide. 17-Deacetylation of the primary products resulted in aromatization or simultaneous hydroxylation, depending on the base applied for the ring A-fused heterocycles, while retro-Dieckmann-like fragmentation was observed partially or completely for the ring D-fused analogues during 3-deacetylation.

Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of some novel 17-isoxazoles in the estrone series.

Regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of different aryl nitrile oxides to mestranol were carried out to furnish novel steroidal 17α-isoxazoles in good to excellent yields. Copper(I) was found to be an efficient catalyst, accelerating the intermolecular ring-closures and leading exclusively to 3,5-disubstituted isoxazoles. The yields of the cycloadducts, however, were influenced by the substituents on the aromatic moiety of the 1,3-dipoles. Moreover, dehydration of the primary products resulted in the corresponding Δ(16,17)exo-heterocyclic derivatives. All the synthesized compounds were subjected to in vitro pharmacological studies of their antiproliferative effects relative to three human malignant cell lines (HeLa, MCF7 and A2780).

A facile 'click' approach to novel 15ß-triazolyl-5α-androstane derivatives, and an evaluation of their antiproliferative activities in vitro.

Intermolecular Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloadditions of 15ß-azido-17ß-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3ß-yl acetate with different terminal alkynes under optimized reaction conditions were carried out to furnish 15ß-triazolyl derivatives in good yields. Subsequent oxidation of the 'click' products with the Jones reagent afforded the corresponding 17-ketones. All the synthetized compounds were tested on three malignant human cell lines (HeLa, MCF7 and A431) in order to investigate their antiproliferative activities in vitro. Evidence of cell cycle blockade and apoptosis induction was obtained for the most effective five selected compounds by means of flow cytometry and microscopic techniques. The 15ß-triazolyl-5α-androstane framework may be considered an appropriate base for the design of steroidal antiproliferative agents.

Efficient approach to novel 1α-triazolyl-5α-androstane derivatives as potent antiproliferative agents.

Stereoselective 1,4-Michael addition of azoimide to 17ß-acetoxy-5α-adrost-1-en-3-one was carried out to furnish a 1α-azido-3-ketone, which was reduced to give the 3ß- and 3α-hydroxy epimers in a ratio of 5 : 2. The Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the major isomer to terminal alkynes afforded 1α-triazolyl derivatives, which were deacetylated to the corresponding 3ß,17ß-diols or oxidized to the analogous 3-ketones. However, the ability of the minor 1α,3α-azidoalcohol to undergo similar cyclization was found to be affected significantly by the steric bulk of the substituents on the alkyne reaction partner. All triazolyl compounds were tested in vitro on three malignant gynecological cell lines (HeLa, MCF7 and A2780).

Synthesis and in vitro antiproliferative activity of novel androst-5-ene triazolyl and tetrazolyl derivatives.

A straightforward and reliable method for the regioselective synthesis of steroidal 1,4-disubstituted triazoles and 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles via copper(I)-catalyzed cycloadditions is reported. Heterocycle moieties were efficiently introduced onto the starting azide compound 3ß-acetoxy-16ß-azidomethylandrost-5-en-17ß-ol through use of the "click" chemistry approach. The antiproliferative activities of the newly-synthesized triazoles were determined in vitro on three human gynecological cell lines (HeLa, MCF7 and A2780) using the microculture tetrazolium assay.

Synthesis of novel steroidal 17α-triazolyl derivatives via Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition, and an evaluation of their cytotoxic activity in vitro.

Regioselective Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of steroidal 17α-azides with different terminal alkynes afforded novel 1,4-disubstituted triazolyl derivatives in good yields in both the estrone and the androstane series. The antiproliferative activities of the structurally related triazoles were determined in vitro on three malignant human cell lines (HeLa, MCF7 and A431), with the microculture tetrazolium assay.

Analysis of nonderivatized steroids by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using C70 fullerene as matrix.

Neutral steroid hormones are currently analyzed by gas or liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry based methods. Most of the steroid compounds, however, lack volatility and do not contain polar groups, which results in inadequate chromatographic behavior and low ionization efficiency. Derivatization of the steroids to form more volatile, thermostable, and charged products solves this difficulty, but the derivatization of compounds with unknown chemical moieties is not an easy task. In this study, a rapid, high-throughput, sensitive matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry method is described using C(70) fullerene as a matrix compound. The application of the method is demonstrated for five general sex steroids and for synthetic steroid compounds in both negative and positive ionization modes.