These findings contribute to evidence identifying the σ(1) receptor as a modulator of activity-induced spinal sensitization and pain hypersensitivity, and suggest σ(1) receptor antagonists as potential novel treatments for neuropathic pain.

An amphipathic ␣-helical peptide (C5A) derived from the membrane anchor domain of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A protein is virocidal for HCV at submicromolar concentrations in vitro. C5A prevents de novo HCV infection and suppresses ongoing infection by inactivating both extra-and intracellular infectious particles, and it is nontoxic in vitro and in vivo at doses at least 100-fold higher than required for antiviral activity. Mutational analysis indicates that C5A's amphipathic ␣-helical structure is necessary but not sufficient for its virocidal activity, which depends on its amino acid composition but not its primary sequence or chirality. In addition to HCV, C5A inhibits infection by selected flaviviruses, paramyxoviruses, and HIV. These results suggest a model in which C5A destabilizes viral membranes based on their lipid composition, offering a unique therapeutic approach to HCV and other viral infections.HCV ͉ amphipathic peptide ͉ antiviral peptide ͉ NS5A ͉ HIV H epatitis C virus (HCV), a member of the Flaviviridae family (1), is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus that causes acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (2, 3). HCV infects Ͼ170 million people worldwide and is the most common cause of liver transplantation in the United States (3). There is no vaccine available for HCV, and the only currently approved treatment (combination therapy with IFN and ribavirin) has limited efficacy and serious side effects (4, 5). Thus, development of new classes of antiviral compounds with improved efficacy and toxicity profiles is urgently needed.The development of HCV replicon technology several years ago (6) greatly accelerated the pace of antiviral drug discovery, leading to the development of HCV protease and polymerase inhibitors that are currently under clinical evaluation (7,8). The landscape for drug discovery improved further with the establishment of a cell culture model of HCV infection in 2005 (9-11), making it possible to search for inhibitors of every step in the HCV life cycle and agents that target the virus itself. We now report the discovery of several HCV-derived synthetic peptides that inhibit HCV infection in the cell culture infection system. One of those inhibitory peptides, an amphipathic ␣-helical 18-mer derived from the membrane anchor domain of the HCV nonstructural protein NS5A that was particularly potent against HCV and selected other virus infections, serves as the basis of this report. Results Identification of Antiviral Peptides.A peptide library of 441 overlapping peptides (18-mers offset by 11 amino acids) covering the entire HCV polyprotein (H77 strain, genotype 1a) was screened (20 M) for the ability to inhibit HCV infection (JFH-1) in a focus reduction assay using Huh-7.5.1 cells (Fig. 1). Thirteen peptides were shown to inhibit HCV focus formation by Ͼ90%. Validation of the antiviral activity of the 13 inhibitory peptides was performed by comparing the ability of each peptide (20 M) to inhibit the expansion of HCV RNA in Huh-7.5.1 cells ...

Undernutrition due to insufficient intake of energy and macronutrients and/or due to deficiencies in specific micronutrients impairs the immune system, suppressing immune functions that are fundamental to host protection. The most consistent abnormalities are seen in cell-mediated immunity, complement system, phagocyte function, cytokine production, mucosal secretory antibody response, and antibody affinity. There is a number of physiological situations such as ageing and performance of intense physical exercise associated with an impairment of some immune parameters' response. Nutrition can influence the extent of immune alteration in both of them. There are also numerous pathological situations in which nutrition plays a role as a primary or secondary determinant of some underlying immunological impairments. This includes obesity, eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), food hypersensitivity and gastrointestinal disorders as some examples. The implications of nutrition on immune function in these disorders are briefly reviewed.

The aim of this review is to present and discuss the effect of different levels of alcohol consumption on the immune system. Not only the amount consumed but also the type of alcoholic beverage have to be taken into account in order to determine the consequences on activity, number, distribution, balance, interaction and response of immunocompetent cells. The association between alcohol exposure and the risk of developing an alcohol-related disease is multifactorial. In fact, age, gender, smoking habits, dietary intake and exercise are involved among other factors. The evaluation of the host cellular and humoral immune responses has shown that alcohol may induce some benefits when consumption is moderate. Moreover, those alcoholic beverages that contain antioxidants, such as red wine, could be protectors against immune cell damage. According to the literature consulted, the daily consumption of 10 -12 g and 20 -24 g of alcohol for women and men, respectively, is considered to be a moderate intake; the type of beverage has been established not to be important when defining moderation. Particular attention is often focused on the U-or J-shaped curve which also suggests that light to moderate drinking produces a protective effect. Such an inverse relationship indicates a reduction of risk for both light and moderate consumers and a higher risk not only for hard drinkers, but also for non-consumers.

The molecular design, chemical synthesis and biological evaluation of two distinct series of platensimycin analogs with varying degrees of complexity are described. The first series of compounds (analog series I: 6, 15–18, Figure 3) probes the biological importance of the benzoic acid subunit of the molecule, whilst the second series (analog series II: 2, 3, 9–14) explores the tetracyclic cage domain. The biological data obtained reveal that while the substituted benzoic acid domain of platensimycin is a highly conserved structural motif within the active compounds with strict functional group requirements, the cage domain of the molecule can tolerate considerable structural modifications without losing biological action. These findings refine our present understanding of the platensimycin pharmacophore and establish certain structure activity relationships (SARs) from which the next generation of designed analogs of this new antibiotic may emerge.

Keywords drug design; cyclic peptides; histone deacetylase; structure-activity relationship; triazole A fundamental strategy in rationally designing synthetic compounds to bind a protein of interest is to use a known ligand as a structural model to specify the precise conformational and pharmacophoric requirements for binding. Despite the remarkable success of this approach, a significant difficulty is that free ligands (in the absence of their cognate receptors) often adopt multiple conformations in solution or in the solid state compared to the receptor-bound structure.[1] These occurrences can render design models based on the free ligand structure difficult to obtain or even misleading.[2] Here we present evidence that the more potent conformation of apicidin, an archetypal member of a family of naturally occurring cyclic tetrapeptide inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACs), is not the all-trans (t-t-t-t) structure that predominates in solution, [3,4] but rather a cis-trans-trans-trans (c-t-t-t) conformation. Our studies rely on the design, synthesis, structural characterization, and functional analysis of a series of cyclic pseudo-tetrapeptides bearing 1,4-or 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole amino acids that serve as trans-or cis-amide bond surrogates, respectively. We show that by replacing an amide bond with a triazole, the bond in question can be fixed in either a trans-like or cis-like configuration, allowing us to individually probe the binding affinity of distinct conformations. The heterocyclic compounds adopt conformations that overlay closely with the targeted conformations of apicidin and demonstrate potent HDAC inhibitory activities, in some cases equivalent or superior to those of the natural product. This study highlights the utility of triazole-modified cyclic peptides in constructing useful

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a family of enzymes found in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals that profoundly affect cellular function by catalyzing the removal of acetyl groups from ε-Nacetylated lysine residues of various protein substrates including histones, transcription factors, α-tubulin, and nuclear importers. Although the precise roles of HDAC isoforms in cellular function are not yet completely understood, inhibition of HDAC activity has emerged as a promising approach for reversing the aberrant epigenetic states associated with cancer and other chronic diseases. Potent new isoform selective HDAC inhibitors would therefore help expand our understanding of the HDAC enzymes and would represent attractive lead compounds for drug design, especially if combined with high resolution structural analyses of such inhibitors to shed light on the three-dimensional pharmacophoric features necessary for the future design of more potent and selective compounds. Here we present structural and functional analyses of a series of β-amino acid-containing HDAC inhibitors inspired by cyclic tetrapeptide natural products. To survey a diverse ensemble of pharmacophoric configurations, we systematically varied the position of the β-amino acid, amino acid chirality, functionalization of the Zn 2+ -coordinating amino acid side chain, and alkylation of the backbone amide nitrogen atoms around the macrocycle. In many cases, the compounds were a single conformation in solution and exhibited potent activities against a number of HDAC isoforms as well as effective antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities against human tumor cells. High resolution NMR solution structures were determined for a selection of the inhibitors, providing a useful means of correlating detailed structural information with potency. The structure-based approach described here is expected to furnish valuable insights toward the future design of more selective HDAC inhibitors.

The involvement of the 5-HT(7) receptor in nociception and pain, particularly chronic pain (i.e., neuropathic pain), has been poorly investigated. In the present study, we examined whether the 5-HT(7) receptor participates in some modulatory control of nerve injury-evoked mechanical hypersensitivity and thermal (heat) hyperalgesia in mice. Activation of 5-HT(7) receptors by systemic administration of the selective 5-HT(7) receptor agonist AS-19 (1 and 10mg/kg) exerted a clear-cut reduction of mechanical and thermal hypersensitivities that were reversed by co-administering the selective 5-HT(7) receptor antagonist SB-258719. Interestingly, blocking of 5-HT(7) receptors with SB-258719 (2.5 and 10mg/kg) enhanced mechanical (but not thermal) hypersensitivity in nerve-injured mice and induced mechanical hypersensitivity in sham-operated mice. Effectiveness of the treatment with a 5-HT(7) receptor agonist was maintained after repeated systemic administration: no tolerance to the antiallodynic and antihyperalgesic effects was developed following treatment with the selective 5-HT(7) receptor agonist E-57431 (10mg/kg) twice daily for 11 days. The 5-HT(7) receptor co-localized with GABAergic cells in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, suggesting that the activation of spinal inhibitory GABAergic interneurons could contribute to the analgesic effects of 5-HT(7) receptor agonists. In addition, a significant increase of 5-HT(7) receptors was found by immunohistochemistry in the ipsilateral dorsal horn of the spinal cord after nerve injury, suggesting a "pain"-triggered regulation of receptor expression. These results support the idea that the 5-HT(7) receptor subtype is involved in the control of pain and point to a new potential use of 5-HT(7) receptor agonists for the treatment of neuropathic pain.