scholarly journals Novel Antiretroviral Therapeutic Strategies for HIV

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (17) ◽  
pp. 5305
Author(s):  
Rita F. Cunha ◽  
Sandra Simões ◽  
Manuela Carvalheiro ◽  
José M. Azevedo Pereira ◽  
Quirina Costa ◽  
...  

When the first cases of HIV infection appeared in the 1980s, AIDS was a deadly disease without any therapeutic alternatives. Currently, there is still no cure for most cases mainly due to the multiple tissues that act as a reservoir for this virus besides the high viral mutagenesis that leads to an antiretroviral drug resistance. Throughout the years, multiple drugs with specific mechanisms of action on distinct targets have been approved. In this review, the most recent phase III clinical studies and other research therapies as advanced antiretroviral nanodelivery systems will be here discussed. Although the combined antiretroviral therapy is effective in reducing viral loading to undetectable levels, it also presents some disadvantages, such as usual side effects, high frequency of administration, and the possibility of drug resistance. Therefore, several new drugs, delivery systems, and vaccines have been tested in pre-clinical and clinical trials. Regarding drug delivery, an attempt to change the route of administration of some conventional antiretrovirals has proven to be successful and surpassed some issues related to patient compliance. Nanotechnology has brought a new approach to overcoming certain obstacles of formulation design including drug solubility and biodistribution. Overall, the encapsulation of antiretroviral drugs into nanosystems has shown improved drug release and pharmacokinetic profile.

2021 ◽  
pp. 54-55
Author(s):  
Jayesh Kalbhande ◽  
Vicky Kuldeep

Drug resistance of bacteria is biggest challenge humanity is going to face in near future. Bacteria are rapidly developing resistant to multiple drugs and there are not many new drugs in pipeline. Infection because of drug resistant organism is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care unit. If acquisition of drug resistance by microorganism progresses at this rate, that time is not very far when we will be pushed in to preantibiotic era. We need to develop new strategies to combat drug resistant by microorganism. We report a case of highly drug resistant urinary tract infection caused by Klebsiella. This strain was resistant to both Inj. Meropenem and Inj. Amikacin. This case was successfully treated by combination of Inj. Meropenem and Inj. Amikacin and complete resolution of infection was observed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 760-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Melo ◽  
Agostinho Lemos ◽  
António J. Preto ◽  
Beatriz Bueschbell ◽  
Pedro Matos-Filipe ◽  
...  

Paediatric Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening and infectious disease in which the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is mainly transmitted through Mother-To- Child Transmission (MTCT) during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or breastfeeding. This review provides an overview of the distinct therapeutic alternatives to abolish the systemic viral replication in paediatric HIV-1 infection. Numerous classes of antiretroviral agents have emerged as therapeutic tools for downregulation of different steps in the HIV replication process. These classes encompass Non- Nucleoside Analogue Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs), Nucleoside/Nucleotide Analogue Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs/NtRTIs), INtegrase Inhibitors (INIs), Protease Inhibitors (PIs), and Entry Inhibitors (EIs). Co-administration of certain antiretroviral drugs with Pharmacokinetic Enhancers (PEs) may boost the effectiveness of the primary therapeutic agent. The combination of multiple antiretroviral drug regimens (Highly Active AntiRetroviral Therapy - HAART) is currently the standard therapeutic approach for HIV infection. So far, the use of HAART offers the best opportunity for prolonged and maximal viral suppression, and preservation of the immune system upon HIV infection. Still, the frequent administration of high doses of multiple drugs, their inefficient ability to reach the viral reservoirs in adequate doses, the development of drug resistance, and the lack of patient compliance compromise the complete HIV elimination. The development of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems may enable targeted delivery of antiretroviral agents to inaccessible viral reservoir sites at therapeutic concentrations. In addition, the application of Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) approaches has provided valuable tools for the development of anti-HIV drug candidates with favourable pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic properties.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (36) ◽  
pp. 4658-4674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Kannigadu ◽  
David. D. N'Da

: Infectious diseases commonly occur in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The pathogens of such diseases are able to multiply in human hosts, warranting their continual survival. Infections that are commonplace include malaria, chagas, trypanosomiasis, giardiasis, amoebiasis, toxoplasmosis and leishmaniasis. Malaria is known to cause symptoms, such as high fever, chills, nausea and vomiting, whereas chagas disease causes enlarged lymph glands, muscle pain, swelling and chest pain. People suffering from African trypanosomiasis may experience severe headaches, irritability, extreme fatigue and swollen lymph nodes. As an infectious disease progresses, the human host may also experience personality changes and neurologic problems. If left untreated, most of these diseases can lead to death. : Parasites, microbes and bacteria are increasingly adapting and generating strains that are resistant to current clinical drugs. Drug resistance creates an urgency for the development of new drugs to treat these infections. Nitro containing drugs, such as chloramphenicol, metronidazole, tinidazole and secnidazole had been banned for use as antiparasitic agents due to their toxicity. However, recent discoveries of nitrocontaining anti-tuberculosis drugs, i.e. delamanid and pretonamid, and the repurposing of flexinidazole for use in combination with eflornithine for the treatment of human trypanosomiasis, have ignited interest in nitroaromatic scaffolds as viable sources of potential anti-infective agents. : This review highlights the differences between old and new nitration methodologies. It furthermore offers insights into recent advances in the development of nitroaromatics as anti-infective drugs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (19) ◽  
pp. 2129-2142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Płocinska ◽  
Malgorzata Korycka-Machala ◽  
Przemyslaw Plocinski ◽  
Jaroslaw Dziadek

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), the causative agent of tuberculosis, is a leading infectious disease organism, causing millions of deaths each year. This serious pathogen has been greatly spread worldwide and recent years have observed an increase in the number of multi-drug resistant and totally drug resistant M. tuberculosis strains (WHO report, 2014). The danger of tuberculosis becoming an incurable disease has emphasized the need for the discovery of a new generation of antimicrobial agents. The development of novel alternative medical strategies, new drugs and the search for optimal drug targets are top priority areas of tuberculosis research. Factors: Key characteristics of mycobacteria include: slow growth, the ability to transform into a metabolically silent - latent state, intrinsic drug resistance and the relatively rapid development of acquired drug resistance. These factors make finding an ideal antituberculosis drug enormously challenging, even if it is designed to treat drug sensitive tuberculosis strains. A vast majority of canonical antibiotics including antituberculosis agents target bacterial cell wall biosynthesis or DNA/RNA processing. Novel therapeutic approaches are being tested to target mycobacterial cell division, twocomponent regulatory factors, lipid synthesis and the transition between the latent and actively growing states. Discussion and Conclusion: This review discusses the choice of cellular targets for an antituberculosis therapy, describes putative drug targets evaluated in the recent literature and summarizes potential candidates under clinical and pre-clinical development. We focus on the key cellular process of DNA replication, as a prominent target for future antituberculosis therapy. We describe two main pathways: the biosynthesis of nucleic acids precursors – the nucleotides, and the synthesis of DNA molecules. We summarize data regarding replication associated proteins that are critical for nucleotide synthesis, initiation, unwinding and elongation of the DNA during the replication process. They are pivotal processes required for successful multiplication of the bacterial cells and hence they are extensively investigated for the development of antituberculosis drugs. Finally, we summarize the most potent inhibitors of DNA synthesis and provide an up to date report on their status in the clinical trials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajpushpa Labh ◽  
Rachna Gupta

: Antiretroviral drug therapy has significantly improved the prognosis and life expectancy of People Living with HIV over the years. But this progress comes with an important caveat that antiretroviral regimens generally require adherence to life-long, daily dosing, to keep viral multiplication under check. Non-adherence to such dosing leads to decreased efficacy and increased drug resistance against antiretroviral drugs. Besides, poor drug penetration to certain tissues like CNS and lymph nodes leads to build-up of viral reservoirs in these sites. To combat some of these challenges and improve patient compliance, long-acting antiretroviral drugs, are a new weapon in the arsenal, in fight against HIV. Few long acting preparations have been approved, and several others are in various clinical and preclinical stages of development. However, longacting formulations also have their share of clinical issues like limited drug distribution, long term adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions, and gradual development of drug resistance. Modern technological premises are being tested to mitigate some of these problems. One such promising approach involves nanotechnological methods, which are being used to develop ultra-long acting formulations and drug delivery systems, targeting tissues with residual HIV concentration. LongActing Slow Effective Release Antiretroviral Therapy aka LASER ART, also builds on nanotechnology and prodrug modifications to design preparations with tailor-made favorable pharmacokinetics and wider drug distribution. These recent advances are fueling the progression of antiretroviral therapy towards eliminating the disease.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Li ◽  
Yujuan Liu ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Junhui Xue ◽  
Yuning Cheng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Icaritin, an active ingredient of the Chinese herb Epimedium, plays an anti-tumor role in liver cancer by inhibiting the proliferation of hepatocellular cells and promoting their apoptosis. In China, phase II and a large phase III clinical trial of icaritin reagent for the treatment of hepatocellular cancer is under-going, but the specific mechanism of icaritin action was unclear. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), an oncofetal protein, produced in the healthy fetal liver and yolk sac. Intracellular AFP promoted cellular proliferation and inhibited cellular apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The study was aimed to investigate the effect of icaritin on HCC through p53/AFP pathway. Methods Real-time RT PCR and western blot were used to detect p53 and AFP expression levels in HCC cells treated with icaritin. The mechanism of icaritin affecting p53 expression was verified by ubiquitination experiment, and the binding activity of icaritin on p53 in AFP promoter region was verified by luciferase experiment. EdU, MTT and flow cytometry were used to determine whether icaritin affected HCC cellular proliferation and apoptosis through p53/ AFP pathway. Expression levels of p53 and AFP in xenograft mouse model were determined by western blotting. Results Our results showed icaritin inhibited AFP expression at mRNA and protein level. AFP was also identified as the target gene of the p53 transcription factor. Icaritin abrogated murine double minute (Mdm) 2-mediated p53 ubiquitination degradation to improve the stability of p53. Up-regulated p53 protein levels then transcriptionally inhibited the AFP promoter. Icaritin-mediated decrease of AFP through Mdm2/p53 pathways inhibited HCC cellular proliferation and promoted HCC cellular apoptosis. Conclusion Our findings revealed the mechanism of icaritin in promoting apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation in liver cancer cells. The regulatory mechanism of icaritin in AFP protein down-regulation provides a theoretical and experimental basis for further research into new drugs for the treatment of liver cancer.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3523
Author(s):  
Wancheng Guo ◽  
Haiqin Wang ◽  
Peng Chen ◽  
Xiaokai Shen ◽  
Boxin Zhang ◽  
...  

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B-cell tumor of the blood system with high incidence and poor prognosis. With a further understanding of the pathogenesis of MM and the bone marrow microenvironment, a variety of adjuvant cell therapies and new drugs have been developed. However, the drug resistance and high relapse rate of MM have not been fundamentally resolved. Studies have shown that, in patients with MM, there is a type of poorly differentiated progenitor cell (MM stem cell-like cells, MMSCs). Although there is no recognized standard for identification and classification, it is confirmed that they are closely related to the drug resistance and relapse of MM. This article therefore systematically summarizes the latest developments in MMSCs with possible markers of MMSCs, introduces the mechanism of how MMSCs work in MM resistance and recurrence, and discusses the active pathways that related to stemness of MM.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
Ronay Cetin ◽  
Eva Quandt ◽  
Manuel Kaulich

Drug resistance is a commonly unavoidable consequence of cancer treatment that results in therapy failure and disease relapse. Intrinsic (pre-existing) or acquired resistance mechanisms can be drug-specific or be applicable to multiple drugs, resulting in multidrug resistance. The presence of drug resistance is, however, tightly coupled to changes in cellular homeostasis, which can lead to resistance-coupled vulnerabilities. Unbiased gene perturbations through RNAi and CRISPR technologies are invaluable tools to establish genotype-to-phenotype relationships at the genome scale. Moreover, their application to cancer cell lines can uncover new vulnerabilities that are associated with resistance mechanisms. Here, we discuss targeted and unbiased RNAi and CRISPR efforts in the discovery of drug resistance mechanisms by focusing on first-in-line chemotherapy and their enforced vulnerabilities, and we present a view forward on which measures should be taken to accelerate their clinical translation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1763
Author(s):  
Marta Mazzetti ◽  
Giulia Marconi ◽  
Martina Mancinelli ◽  
Antonio Benedetti ◽  
Marco Marzioni ◽  
...  

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are two chronic cholestatic liver diseases affecting bile ducts that may progress to biliary cirrhosis. In the past few years, the increasing knowledge in the pathogenesis of both diseases led to a growing number of clinical trials and possible new targets for therapy. In this review, we provide an update on the treatments in clinical use and summarize the new drugs in trials for PBC and PSC patients. Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) agonists and Pan-Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR) agonists are the most promising agents and have shown promising results in both PBC and PSC. Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 (FGF19) analogues also showed good results, especially in PBC, while, although PBC and PSC are autoimmune diseases, immunosuppressive drugs had disappointing effects. Since the gut microbiome could have a potential role in the pathogenesis of PSC, recent research focused on molecules that could change the microbiome, with good results. The near future of the medical management of these diseases may include new treatments or a combination of multiple drugs targeting different signaling pathways at different stages of the diseases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5(74)) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
M.N. Tillyashajhov ◽  
S.V. Kamyshov ◽  
E.V. Bojko

For a long time, chemotherapy remained the main treatment option for metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC). Over the past year, there have been revolutionary changes associated with the approval of five new drugs aimed at blocking the interaction between the surface protein of T‑lymphocytes PD‑1 and its ligands PD‑L1 and PD‑L2, resulting in the activation of the immune response. It is noteworthy that the anti‑PD‑1 antibody pembrolizumab demonstrated an increase in overall survival relative to chemotherapy in a randomized phase III trial in the second line with mUC. Based on this level 1 evidence pembrolizumab was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Nivolumab (antibody PD‑1) also demonstrated an increase in overall survival compared to historical control and was approved by FDA. Likewise, antibodies targeting PD‑L1, including atezolizumab, durvalumab and avelumab, received accelerated approval from the FDA as the second line of treatment for mUC. Some of these agents are approved in the first line by the results of phase II study (atezolizumab and pembolizumab received accelerated approval for first‑line treatment in patients not receiving cisplatin). Despite these many endorsements, clinical development of new biomarkers for selection of patients, who can get maximum advantages of immunotherapy and also for development the optimal therapy sequencing still are biggest and critical question for future investigation.The clinical introduction of biomarkers to determine optimal treatment of patients remains extremely important.


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