Androgen receptor blockade by flutamide down-regulates renal fibrosis, inflammation, and apoptosis pathways in male rats.

AIM: this study aims to explore the effect of androgen receptor (AR) blockade by flutamide on some renal pathologic changes such as inflammation, apoptosis, and fibrosis in male rats. MAIN METHODS: Firstly, we investigated the potential effect of AR blockade on renal inflammatory intermediates including IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, NF-Òšß proteins, and the renal gene expression of NF-Қß. Besides inflammation, we also assessed the apoptosis pathways including the caspases 3 & 9, mTOR, pAKT proteins, and BAX gene expression. Besides inflammation and apoptosis pathways, we also investigated the effect of androgen blockade on renal fibrosis intermediates including vimentin, TGFß-1, α-SMA, MMP-9, collagen type-III, collagen type-IV, and the renal expression of the col1A1 gene. Besides previous pathological pathways, we assessed the expression of chloride channel protein-5 (ClC-5), as an important regulator of many renal pathological changes. Finally, we assessed the impact of previous pathological changes on renal function at biochemical and pathological levels. KEY FINDINGS: We found that AR blockade by flutamide was associated with the down-regulation of renal inflammation, apoptosis, and fibrosis markers. It was associated with expression down-regulation of IL-1ß & IL-6, TNF-α, NF-Қß, caspases 3 & 9, mTOR, MMP-9, collagens, TGFß-1, and α-SMA. Away from down-regulation, we also found that AR blockade has upregulated ClC-5 and pAKT proteins. SIGNIFICANCE: AR is a major player in androgens-induced nephrotoxicity. AR blockade downregulates renal fibrosis, inflammation, and apoptosis pathways. It may be helpful as a strategy for alleviation of renal side effects associated with some drugs. However; this needs further investigations.

Design, synthesis, and anti-cancer evaluation of new pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives as potential EGFRWT and EGFRT790M inhibitors and apoptosis inducers.

A new series of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives having the essential pharmacophoric features of EGFR inhibitors has been designed and synthesised. Cell viability screening was performed for these compounds against A-549, PC-3, HCT-116, and MCF-7 cell lines at a dose of 100 µM. The highest active derivatives (8a, 8 b, 8d, 9a, and 12b) were selected for IC50 screening. Compounds 8a, 8 b, and 9a showed the highest cytotoxic activities and were further investigated for wild EGFRWT and mutant EGFRT790M inhibitory activities. Compound 8a showed the highest inhibitory activities against EGFRWT and EGFRT790M with IC50 values of 0.099 and 0.123 µM, respectively. In addition, it arrested the cell cycle at pre-G1 phase and induced a significant apoptotic effect in PC-3 cells. Furthermore, compound 8a induced a 5.3-fold increase in the level of caspase-3 in PC-3 cells. Finally, docking studies were carried out to examine the binding mode of the synthesised compounds against both EGFRWT and EGFRT790M.

Identification of novel small molecule inhibitors against the NS3/4A protease of hepatitis C virus genotype 4a.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection poses a considerable threat to the public health. The current standard of care treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha in combination with ribavirin (PEG-IFN- α+RBV) is associated with significant side effects, poorly tolerated, and provides limited efficacy. The development of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) targeting key viral enzymes essential for viral replication represents a significant milestone in the treatment of chronic HCV infection. Given its critical role in the viral polyprotein processing and the evasion of the host innate immunity, the NS3/4A protease has emerged as a promising drug target for the development of anti-HCV therapies. Although several potent NS3/4A protease inhibitors (PIs) have been approved or are in clinical development, the majority of currently available PIs have significant limitations related to untoward adverse events and a lack of pan-genotypic activity, indicating a continuing unmet medical need for the development and optimization of novel PIs with improved efficacy and tolerability, convenient dosing schedules, and shorter treatment durations. METHODS: The inhibitory efficacy of four computer-designed chemically-synthesized compounds was evaluated against in vitro-expressed NS3/4A protease from HCV genotype 4a, the most prevalent genotype in Egypt, using a fluorescence-based enzymatic assay. RESULTS: We successfully identified two non-macrocyclic small molecules, BE113 (7a) and BE114 (7b), which exhibited inhibitory activity against HCV NS3/4A protease from HCV genotype 4a. CONCLUSION: The two compounds presented in this study may be promising inhibitors against NS3/4A protease of HCV genotype 4a and could be novel lead compounds for developing new therapeutics for the treatment of chronic HCV infection.