• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2020

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are immature myeloid cells that exert suppressive function on the immune response. MDSCs expand in tumor-bearing hosts or in the tumor microenvironment and suppress T cell responses via various mechanisms, whereas a reduction in their activities has been observed in autoimmune diseases or infections. It has been reported that the symptoms of various diseases, including malignant tumors, can be alleviated by targeting MDSCs. Moreover, MDSCs can contribute to patient resistance to therapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors. In line with these therapeutic approaches, diverse oligonucleotide-based molecules and small molecules have been evaluated for their therapeutic efficacy in several disease models via the modulation of MDSC activity. In the current review, MDSC-targeting oligonucleotides and small molecules are briefly summarized, and we highlight the immunomodulatory effects on MDSCs in a variety of disease models and the application of MDSC-targeting molecules for immuno-oncologic therapy.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.284-288
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• 2015

Anionic small molecules are hard to penetrate the cell membranes because of their negative charges. Encapsulation of small molecules into liposome particles can provide target specific delivery of them. In our previous study, siRNA could be efficiently encapsulated into liposome particles using an asymmetric preparation method of liposomes. In this study, the same method was applied for encapsulation of small anionic fluorescent chemicals such as calcein and indocyanine green (ICG). More than 90% fluorescent chemicals were encapsulated in the asymmetric liposome particles (ALPs). No intracellular fluorescent signal was observed in the tumor cells treated with the unmodified calcein/ALPs and ICG/ALPs, whereas the surface modification with a cell-penetrating polyarginine peptide (R8 or R12) allows cellular uptake of the ALPs. The results demonstrate that the ALPs encapsulating small anionic drugs will be useful for target-specific delivery after modification of target-specific ligands.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2013

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have enormous potential in the biomedical sciences because they can grow continuously and differentiate into any kind of cell in the body. However, for future application in regenerative medicine, it is still a challenge to control the differentiation of PSCs without using genetic materials. To control the differentiation of PSCs, small molecules might be the best substitute for genetic materials considering the following advantages: small size, which enables penetration of plasma membrane; easy-to-modify structure; and low chance of genetic recombination in treated cells. Herein, we introduce small molecules that induce the neuroectodermal differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). The small molecules were identified via ESC-based consecutive screenings of small-molecule libraries composed of 324 natural compounds or 93 selected drugs. The natural compounds discovered in the first screening were used to select 93 structurally similar drugs out of 1,200 approved drugs. In the second screening, among the 93 compounds, we found 4 drugs that induced the neuroectodermal differentiation of ESCs. These drugs were progesteroneor corticoid-derivatives. Our results suggest that small molecules targeting the progesterone receptor or glucocorticoid receptor could be used as chemical tools to induce the differentiation of PSCs into a specific germ lineage.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.219-227
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• 2024

Bladder cancer remains the 10th most common cancer worldwide. In recent years, metformin has been found to have potential anti-bladder cancer activity while high concentration of IC₅₀ at millimolar level is needed, which could not be reached by regular oral administration route. Thus, higher efficient agent is urgently demanded for clinically treating bladder cancer. Here, by conjugating artesunate to metformin, a novel artesunate-metformin dimer triazine derivative AM2 was designed and synthesized. The inhibitory effect of AM2 on bladder cancer cell line T24 and the mechanism underlying was determined. Anti-tumor activity of AM2 was assessed by MTT, cloning formation and wound healing assays. Decreasing effect of AM2 on lipogenesis was determined by oil red O staining. The protein expressions of Clusterin, SREBP1 and FASN in T24 cells were evaluated by Western blotting. The results show that AM2 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and migration at micromolar level, much higher than parental metformin. AM2 reduced lipogenesis and down-regulated the expressions of Clusterin, SREBP1 and FASN. These results suggest that AM2 inhibits the growth of bladder cancer cells T24 by inhibiting cellular lipogenesis associated with the Clusterin/SREBP1/FASN signaling pathway.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.65-67
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• 2023

SMILES (simplified molecular-input line-entry system) information of small molecules parsed by one-hot array is passed to a convolutional neural network called black box. Outputs data representing a gene signature is then matched to the genetic signature of a disease to predict the appropriate small molecule. Efficacy of the predicted small molecules is examined by in vivo animal models. GSEA, gene set enrichment analysis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2005

Eukaryotes produce various types of small RNAs of 19-28 nt in length. With rapidly increasing numbers of small RNAs listed in recent years, we have come to realize how widespread their functions are and how diverse the biogenesis pathways have evolved. At the same time, we are beginning to grasp the common features and rules governing the key steps in small RNA pathways. In this review, I will summarize the current classification, biogenesis, action mechanism and function of these fascinating molecules.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.771-776
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• 2003

The structural and dynamic properties of small n-alkane clusters embedded in a mesoscopic solvent are investigated. The solvent interactions are taken into account through a multi-particle collision operator that conserves mass, momentum and energy and the solvent dynamics is updated at discrete time intervals. The cluster molecules interact among themselves and with the solvent molecules through intermolecular forces. The properties of n-heptane and n-decane clusters interacting with the mesoscopic solvent molecules through repulsive Lennard-Jones interactions are studied as a function of the number of the mesoscopic solvent molecules. Modifications of both the cluster and solvent structure as a result of cluster-solvent interactions are considered. The cluster-solvent interactions also affect the dynamics of the small n-alkane clusters.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.79-79
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• 2003

SHG (Second harmonic generation) can be used to probe the surface of centrosymmetric particles suspended in bulk isotropic solution, because it is forbidden in centrosymmetric media under the dipole approximation. Using this technique, we can study the transport dynamics of small organic dye molecules across liposome bilayers. Because molecules adsorbed on the outer layer are in opposite direction with that on the inner layer by symmetry, the SH field is proportional to the difference between the number density of dye molecules on both sides of the bilayer, and the time dependence of the SH intensity is related to the time constant of the molecular transportation of dye molecules across liposome bilayers.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.67-77
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• 2012

The small molecule binding to the c-Jun N-terminal kinase 3 (JNK3) was examined by the measurements of saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR experiments. The STD NMR experiment of ATP added to JNK3 clearly showed the binding of the nucleotide to the kinase. The STD NMR spectrum of dNTPs added to JNK3 discriminated the kinase-bound nucleotide from the unbound ones. After the five-fold addition of ATP to the dNTPs and JNK3 mixture, only signals of the cognate substrate of JNK3, ATP, were observed from the STD NMR experiment. These results signify that by the STD NMR the small molecules bound to JNK3 can be discriminated from the pool of the unbound molecules. Furthermore the binding mode of the small molecule to JNK3 can be determined by the competition experiments with ATP.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.933-942
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• 2018

Traditionally, small-molecule or antibody-based therapies against human diseases have been designed to inhibit the enzymatic activity or compete for the ligand binding sites of pathological target proteins. Despite its demonstrated effectiveness, such as in cancer treatment, this approach is often limited by recurring drug resistance. More importantly, not all molecular targets are enzymes or receptors with druggable 'hot spots' that can be directly occupied by active site-directed inhibitors. Recently, a promising new paradigm has been created, in which small-molecule chemicals harness the naturally occurring protein quality control machinery of the ubiquitin-proteasome system to specifically eradicate disease-causing proteins in cells. Such 'chemically induced protein degradation' may provide unprecedented opportunities for targeting proteins that are inherently undruggable, such as structural scaffolds and other non-enzymatic molecules, for therapeutic purposes. This review focuses on surveying recent progress in developing E3-guided proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) and small-molecule chemical modulators of deubiquitinating enzymes upstream of or on the proteasome.