Melanoma genomics: a state-of-the-art review of practical clinical applications.

Our collective understanding of melanoma genomics has rapidly expanded in the past decade, bringing great promise to patients affected with the most severe and aggressive cases of melanoma. In this review, we present the practical clinical impact of genetics and genomics on modern melanoma diagnosis and treatment. Characterization of somatic driver mutations, which can be used to distinguish different subtypes of melanoma such as nonacral cutaneous melanoma (NACM), desmoplastic melanoma (DM), acral melanoma (AM), mucosal melanoma (MM) and uveal melanoma (UM), has led to the development of many targeted therapies against these tumours. Although targeted therapies exist for certain mutations, such as BRAF and KIT, other genotypes respond to newer-generation immune therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors. Epigenetics also plays a critical role in melanoma pathogenesis and drug resistance, holding promise for new treatment avenues. In this review, special attention is placed on clinical trials and translational research, especially novel genomic tests aimed to benefit patients on an individualized level in the current emerging era of personalized therapy.

Atropisomeric quinazolin-4-one derivatives are potent noncompetitive alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonists.

Piriqualone (1) was found to be an antagonist of AMPA receptors. Structure activity optimization was conducted on each of the three rings in 1 to afford a series of potent and selective antagonists. The sterically crowded environment surrounding the N-3 aryl group provided sufficient thermal stability for atropisomers to be isolated. Separation of these atropisomers resulted in the identification of (+)-38 (CP-465,022), a compound that binds to the AMPA receptor with high affinity (IC50 = 36 nM) and displays potent anticonvulsant activity.

Role of sialylation in determining the pharmacokinetics of neutrophil inhibitory factor (NIF) in the Fischer 344 rat.

1. Recombinant neutrophil inhibitory factor (NIF) is a glycoprotein. Its amino acid sequence remains constant and has a molecular weight of 28.9 kD. However, approximately 40% of the total molecular weight consists of glycans with variable structure. 2. The pharmacokinetics of 11 different NIF batches with varying extents and patterns of sialylation have been investigated in the Fischer 344 rat following intravenous administration. These data indicate that reducing the extent of NIF sialylation reduces the half-life of the molecule due to an increase in the systemic clearance. Also, an increase in the number of unsialylated or neutral glycans may increase the volume of distribution of NIF, although this effect is marginal. 3. Isolated perfused rat liver (IPRL) investigations have shown that sialylated NIF has a low hepatic extraction (< 1%), while asialo NIF has an extraction that is > 20-fold higher. Co-administration of asialo NIF with asialo fetuin (a protein cleared by hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor (possibly galactose)-mediated uptake reduced the hepatic extraction of asialo NIF. 4. These data suggest that NIF molecules that have free sugar moieties (possibly galactose) interact with an asialoglycoprotein receptor (possibly galactose-mediated) in the liver (parenchymal cells/hepatocytes). Interaction with this receptor leads to cellular internalization and degradation.