Publications by authors named "Ana Estevez-Braun"

Natural products constitute an important resource for drug discovery with hispanolone derivatives recognized as bioactive diterpenes due to their broad therapeutic potential. Dehydroisohispanolone (DIH) is an anti-inflammatory labdane diterpene, that acts as a multi-target agent through various inflammation pathways. Aberrant activation of the Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is involved in several inflammatory diseases, including gout.

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Crataegus azarolus L. (Rosaceae), commonly known as Mediterranean hawthorn, has long been valued in Traditional Medicine for treating cardiovascular and inflammation-related diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and rheumatism. Pharmacological benefits of Crataegus azarolus L.

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Much work has been dedicated to the quest to determine the structure-activity relationship in synthetic brassinosteroid (BR) analogs. Recently, it has been reported that analogs with phenyl or benzoate groups in the alkyl chain present activities comparable to those shown by natural BRs, depending on the nature of the substituent in the aromatic ring. However, as it is well known that the activity depends on the structure of the whole molecule, in this work, we have synthesized a series of compounds with the same substituted benzoate in the alkyl chain and a hydroxyl group at C3.

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The human phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase type I α (hPIP5K1α) plays a key role in the development of prostate cancer. In this work, seventeen derivatives of the natural diterpene totarol were prepared by copper(I)-catalysed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of the correspondingO-propargylated totarol with aryl or alkyl azides and screened for their inhibitory activities toward hPIP5K1α. Five compounds, 3a, 3e, 3f, 3i, and 3r, strongly inhibited the enzyme activity with IC values of 1.

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Five new brassinosteroid analogues were synthetized from 3β-acetoxy-23,24-dinorchol-4-en-22-oic acid. All the obtained compound showed significant activity in the Rice Lamina Inclination Test. Interestingly the effects of the methyl ester of 3β-hydroxy-6-oxo-23,24-dinorcholan-22-oic acid (14) at concentrations of 1 × 10 and 1 × 10 M proved to be higher than those produced by brassinolide.

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A set of new dihydroquinoline embelin derivatives was obtained from the reaction of the natural benzoquinone embelin () with anilines and aromatic aldehydes in the presence of AgOTf. The synthesis of these compounds involves the formation of a Knoevenagel adduct, followed by nucleophilic addition of aniline and subsequent electrocyclic ring closure. The scope of the reaction regarding the aldehydes and anilines was determined.

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Dysregulated inflammasome activity, particularly of the NLRP3 inflammasome, is associated with the development of several inflammatory diseases. The study of molecules directly targeting NLRP3 is an emerging field in the discovery of new therapeutic compounds for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Friedelane triterpenes are biologically active phytochemicals having a wide range of activities including anti-inflammatory effects.

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The cardiovascular side effects associated with doxorubicin (DOX), a wide spectrum anticancer drug, have limited its clinical application. Therefore, to explore novel strategies with cardioprotective effects, a series of new labdane conjugates were prepared (6a-6c and 8a-8d) from the natural diterpene labdanodiol (1). These hybrid compounds contain anti-inflammatory privileged structures such as naphthalimide, naphthoquinone, and furanonaphthoquinone.

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Tamoxifen improves the overall survival rate in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients. However, despite the fact that it exerts antagonistic effects on the ERα, it can act as a partial agonist, resulting in tumor growth in estrogen-sensitive tissues. In this study, highly functionalized 5-hydroxy-2-pyrrol-2-ones were synthesized and evaluated by using ERα- and phenotype-based screening assays.

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Dehydroisohispanolone (DIH), is a labdane diterpene that has exhibited anti-inflammatory activity via inhibition of NF-κB activation, although its potential effects on inflammasome activation remain unexplored. This study aims to elucidate whether DIH modulates NLR family pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in macrophages. Our findings show that DIH inhibited NLRP3 activation triggered by Nigericin (Nig), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, indicating broad inhibitory effects.

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Based on molecular docking studies on the ERα, a series of lignan derivatives (-) were designed and semisynthesized from the natural dibenzylbutyrolactones bursehernin () and matairesinol dimethyl ether (). To examine their estrogenic and antiestrogenic potencies, the effects of these compounds on estrogen receptor element (ERE)-driven reporter gene expression and viability in human ER+ breast cancer cells were evaluated. Lignan compounds induced ERE-driven reporter gene expression with very low potency as compared with the pure agonist E2.

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is a ubiquitous fungus that affects hundreds of plants, resulting in economic losses to the horticulture and fruit industry. The search for new antifungal agents is a matter of current interest. Thus, in this work a series of geranylated phenols in which the side alkyl chain has been hydrated have been synthesized, and their activity against has been evaluated.

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A set of new dihydro-1-pyrazolo[1,3-]pyridine and pyrazolo[1,3-]pyridine embelin derivatives was synthesized through a multicomponent reaction from natural embelin, 3-substituted-5-aminopyrazoles and aldehydes. The synthesized compounds were evaluated against three hematologic tumor cell lines, HEL (acute erythroid leukemia), K-562 (chronic myeloid leukemia) and HL-60 (acute myeloid leukemia), and five breast cancer cell lines (SKBR3, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, BT-549, HS-578T). The primate non-malignant kidney Vero cell line was used as the control of cytotoxicity.

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Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a hematological malignancy that highly depends on the BCR-ABL1/STAT5 signaling pathway for cell survival. First-line treatments for CML consist of tyrosine kinase inhibitors that efficiently target BCR-ABL1 activity. However, drug resistance and intolerance are still therapeutic limitations in Ph+ cells.

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Tamoxifen is the most widely used selective modulator of estrogen receptors (SERM) and the first strategy as coadjuvant therapy for the treatment of estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer worldwide. In spite of such success, tamoxifen is not devoid of undesirable effects, the most life-threatening reported so far affecting uterine tissues. Indeed, tamoxifen treatment is discouraged in women under risk of uterine cancers.

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The human phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase type I α (hPIP5K1α) plays a major role in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. As it has been shown before that hPIP5K1α is involved in the development of different types of cancer in particular prostate cancer, inhibitors of the enzyme might be a new option for the treatment of this disease. Here we report on the expression of hPIP5K1α on the surface of E.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers synthesized a library of embelin derivatives using a multicomponent reaction involving embelin, aldehydes, and various privileged structures with InCl as a catalyst.
  • The process included multiple steps such as Knoevenagel condensation, Michael addition, intramolecular cyclization, and dehydration.
  • Many of the new compounds showed significant antibacterial activity, particularly against Gram-positive bacteria and a notable multiresistant clinical isolate, indicating that combining embelin with different privileged substructures can enhance their antibacterial properties.
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The NLRP3 inflammasome plays a critical role in inflammation-mediated human diseases and represents a promising drug target for novel anti-inflammatory therapies. Hispanolone is a labdane diterpenoid isolated from the aerial parts of species. This diterpenoid and some derivatives have demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in classical inflammatory pathways.

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A new series of furan embelin derivatives was synthesized and characterized as ATP-competitive CK2 inhibitors. The new compounds were efficiently synthesized using a multicomponent approach from embelin (1), aldehydes and isonitriles through a Knoevenagel condensation/Michael addition/heterocyclization. Several compounds with inhibitory activities in the low micromolar or even submicromolar were identified.

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The human phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase type I α (hPIP5K1α) participates in the phosphoinositide-3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway. Despite the evidence that hPIP5K1α plays a role in the development of prostate cancer (PCa), only one inhibitor is known to date. With the aim of identifying new inhibitors, a nonradiometric assay for measurement of the hPIP5K1α enzyme activity was developed.

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A series of 34 1,2,3-triazole-naphthoquinone conjugates were synthesized via copper-catalyzed cycloaddition (CuAAC). They were evaluated for their in vitro antimalarial activity against chloroquine-sensitive strains of and against three different tumor cell lines (SKBr-3, MCF-7, HEL). The most active antimalarial compounds showed a low antiproliferative activity.

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α-Hispanolol (α-H) is a labdane diterpenoid that has been shown to induce apoptosis in several human cancer cells. However, the effect of α-H in human glioblastoma cells has not been described. In the present work, we have investigated the effects of α-H on apoptosis, migration, and invasion of human glioblastoma cells with the aim of identifying the molecular targets underlying its mechanism of action.

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The signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) are transcription factors that work via JAK/STAT pathway regulating the expression of genes involved in cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, development, immune response, and, among other essential biological functions, hematopoiesis. JAK/STAT signaling is strictly regulated under normal physiological conditions. However, a large group of diverse diseases has been associated to an aberrant regulation of STAT factors.

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Article Synopsis
  • BCR-ABL1-STAT5 is a critical signaling pathway in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and targeting it with drugs like NPQ-C6 shows promise in overcoming resistance to existing treatments.
  • NPQ-C6 was found to effectively inhibit the growth of CML cells, alter cell cycle phases, and induce apoptosis through various cellular changes and signaling pathway alterations.
  • The compound operates not only on regular CML cells but also remains effective against imatinib-resistant cells, targeting multiple proteins involved in the oncogenic pathways for potential therapeutic benefit.
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Synopsis of recent research by authors named "Ana Estevez-Braun"

  • - Ana Estevez-Braun's recent research focuses on the development and synthesis of novel compounds that exhibit potential applications in treating various diseases, particularly cancer and inflammatory conditions. Her studies emphasize structure-activity relationships in synthetic analogs, such as brassinosteroids and embelin derivatives, to enhance biological efficacy.
  • - An important aspect of Estevez-Braun's work is the exploration of specific enzyme inhibitors and anti-inflammatory agents, targeting pathways like NLRP3 inflammasome and PIP5K1α in cancer progression, showcasing her commitment to addressing drug resistance in chronic myelogenous leukemia and other malignancies.
  • - Additionally, Estevez-Braun evaluates the biological activities of synthesized compounds through various assays, including anti-cancer and plant growth assays, indicating a multi-disciplinary approach that spans medicinal chemistry and agricultural sciences, thereby contributing to a broader understanding of bioactive compounds.