Selected Papers from the 1st International Electronic Conference on Biomolecules

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 16893

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Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
Interests: protein physics; protein folding; protein misfolding; intrinsically disordered proteins; protein function; protein interactions
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Dear Colleagues,

The 1st International Electronic Conference on Biomolecules: Natural and Bio-Inspired Therapeutics for Human Diseases (IECBM2020) (https://sciforum.net/conference/IECBM2020) is organized by journal Biomolecules (Impact Factor 4.082) from 1 to 13 December 2020. This conference aims to provide leading scientists working in the field with an online platform on which to share their latest research and engage in exciting discussions. The main topics of the conference are:

  • The natural and bio-inspired drug universe;
  • Derivatives of natural drugs: when chemistry allows optimization of what was created by nature;
  • Pathways for the discovery of new bio-inspired and natural drugs and their derivatives;
  • Repurposing of previously approved natural and bio-inspired drugs.

This Special Issue is intended to collect the Extended and expanded versions of proceedings papers from the conference. All the conference participants will be granted a 20% discount on the Article Processing Charges (APC).

Prof. Dr. Prakash Kulkarni
Dr. Marc Maresca
Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 4035 KiB  
Article
Thymoquinone Protects Neurons in the Cerebellum of Rats through Mitigating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Following High-Fat Diet Supplementation
by Aziza Alrafiah
Biomolecules 2021, 11(2), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11020165 - 27 Jan 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2255
Abstract
High-fat diet (HFD) is a major problem causing neuronal damage. Thymoquinone (TQ) could regulate oxidative stress and the inflammatory process. Hence, the present study elucidated the significant role of TQ on oxidative stress, inflammation, as well as morphological changes in the cerebellum of [...] Read more.
High-fat diet (HFD) is a major problem causing neuronal damage. Thymoquinone (TQ) could regulate oxidative stress and the inflammatory process. Hence, the present study elucidated the significant role of TQ on oxidative stress, inflammation, as well as morphological changes in the cerebellum of rats with HFD. Rats were divided into three groups as (1) control, (2) saturated HFD for eight weeks and (3) HFD supplementation (four weeks) followed by TQ 300 mg/kg/day treated (four weeks). After treatment, blood samples were collected to measure oxidative stress markers glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, neuronal morphological changes were also observed in the cerebellum of the rats. HFD rats show higher body weight (286.5 ± 7.4 g) as compared with the control group (224.67 ± 1.78 g). TQ treatment significantly (p < 0.05) lowered the body weight (225.83 ± 13.15 g). TQ produced a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The antioxidative enzymes significantly reduced in HFD rats (GSH, 1.46 ± 0.36 mol/L and SOD, 99.13 ± 5.41 µmol/mL) as compared with the control group (GSH, 6.25 ± 0.36 mol/L and SOD, 159.67 ± 10.67 µmol/mL). MDA was increased significantly in HFD rats (2.05 ± 0.25 nmol/L) compared to the control group (0.695 ± 0.11 nmol/L). Surprisingly, treatment with TQ could improve the level of GSH, MDA, and SOD. TQ treatment significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the inflammatory markers as compared with HFD alone. TQ treatment minimizes neuronal damage as well as reduces inflammation and improves antioxidant enzymes. TQ can be considered as a promising agent in preventing the neuronal morphological changes in the cerebellum of obese populations. Full article
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Review

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64 pages, 24736 KiB  
Review
Cyclic Dipeptides: The Biological and Structural Landscape with Special Focus on the Anti-Cancer Proline-Based Scaffold
by Joanna Bojarska, Adam Mieczkowski, Zyta M. Ziora, Mariusz Skwarczynski, Istvan Toth, Ahmed O. Shalash, Keykavous Parang, Shaima A. El-Mowafi, Eman H. M. Mohammed, Sherif Elnagdy, Maha AlKhazindar and Wojciech M. Wolf
Biomolecules 2021, 11(10), 1515; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11101515 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 7786
Abstract
Cyclic dipeptides, also know as diketopiperazines (DKP), the simplest cyclic forms of peptides widespread in nature, are unsurpassed in their structural and bio-functional diversity. DKPs, especially those containing proline, due to their unique features such as, inter alia, extra-rigid conformation, high resistance to [...] Read more.
Cyclic dipeptides, also know as diketopiperazines (DKP), the simplest cyclic forms of peptides widespread in nature, are unsurpassed in their structural and bio-functional diversity. DKPs, especially those containing proline, due to their unique features such as, inter alia, extra-rigid conformation, high resistance to enzyme degradation, increased cell permeability, and expandable ability to bind a diverse of targets with better affinity, have emerged in the last years as biologically pre-validated platforms for the drug discovery. Recent advances have revealed their enormous potential in the development of next-generation theranostics, smart delivery systems, and biomaterials. Here, we present an updated review on the biological and structural profile of these appealing biomolecules, with a particular emphasis on those with anticancer properties, since cancers are the main cause of death all over the world. Additionally, we provide a consideration on supramolecular structuring and synthons, based on the proline-based DKP privileged scaffold, for inspiration in the design of compound libraries in search of ideal ligands, innovative self-assembled nanomaterials, and bio-functional architectures. Full article
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29 pages, 3307 KiB  
Review
The Most Competent Plant-Derived Natural Products for Targeting Apoptosis in Cancer Therapy
by Sadegh Rajabi, Marc Maresca, Alexei Valerievich Yumashev, Rasool Choopani and Homa Hajimehdipoor
Biomolecules 2021, 11(4), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11040534 - 3 Apr 2021
Cited by 73 | Viewed by 5395
Abstract
Cancer is a challenging problem for the global health community, and its increasing burden necessitates seeking novel and alternative therapies. Most cancers share six basic characteristics known as “cancer hallmarks”, including uncontrolled proliferation, refractoriness to proliferation blockers, escaping apoptosis, unlimited proliferation, enhanced angiogenesis, [...] Read more.
Cancer is a challenging problem for the global health community, and its increasing burden necessitates seeking novel and alternative therapies. Most cancers share six basic characteristics known as “cancer hallmarks”, including uncontrolled proliferation, refractoriness to proliferation blockers, escaping apoptosis, unlimited proliferation, enhanced angiogenesis, and metastatic spread. Apoptosis, as one of the best-known programmed cell death processes, is generally promoted through two signaling pathways, including the intrinsic and extrinsic cascades. These pathways comprise several components that their alterations can render an apoptosis-resistance phenotype to the cell. Therefore, targeting more than one molecule in apoptotic pathways can be a novel and efficient approach for both identifying new anticancer therapeutics and preventing resistance to therapy. The main purpose of this review is to summarize data showing that various plant extracts and plant-derived molecules can activate both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways in human cancer cells, making them attractive candidates in cancer treatment. Full article
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