12-Thiazole abietanes are highly selective reversible inhibitors of hABHD16A that could potentially alleviate neuroinflammation. In this study, we used synthetic chemistry, competitive activity-based protein profiling, and computational methodologies to try to establish relevant structural determinants of activity and selectivity of this class of compounds for inhibiting ABHD16A over ABHD12. Five compounds sign...
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare metabolic disease caused by variations in a human gene, PAH, encoding phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), and the enzyme converting the essential amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine. Many PKU-causing variations compromise the conformational stability of the encoded enzyme, decreasing or abolishing its catalytic activity, and leading to an elevated concentration of phenylalanine i...
G-quadruplex (G4)-interactive small molecules have a wide range of potential applications, not only as drugs, but also as sensors of quadruplex structures. The purpose of this work is the synthesis of analogues of the bis-methylquinolinium-pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide G4 ligand 360A, to identify relevant structure–activity relationships to apply to the design of other G4-interactive small molecules bearing bis-qu...
The emergence of potentially dangerous new psychoactive substances (NPS) imposes enormous challenges on forensic laboratories regarding their rapid and unambiguous identification. Access to comprehensive databases is essential for a quick characterization of these substances, allowing them to be categorized according to national and international legislations. In this work, it is reported the synthesis and stru...
Bioactive compounds, such as isorhamnetin and piscidic acid, were obtained from decoctions of cladodes (stem pads from Opuntia ficus-indica). The effect of these phenolic compounds, in a fiber-free extract, were evaluated as inhibitors of cholesterol permeation through a Caco-2 cell monolayer and as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor. A reduction of 38% in cholesterol permeation through t...
During the infection process, the influenza fusion peptide (FP) inserts into the host membrane, playing a crucial role in the fusion process between the viral and host membranes. In this work we used a combination of simulation and experimental techniques to analyse the molecular details of this process, which are largely unknown. Although the FP structure has been obtained by NMR in detergent micelles, there i...