| Grant number: | 18/00187-7 |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |
| Start date: | May 01, 2018 |
| End date: | December 31, 2020 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry |
| Principal Investigator: | Nailton Monteiro Do Nascimento Júnior |
| Grantee: | Nailton Monteiro Do Nascimento Júnior |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil |
| City of the host institution: | Araraquara |
| Associated researchers: | Jean Leandro dos Santos |
Abstract
Changes involving the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are related with several diseases: schizophrenia, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease (AD), anxiety, Parkinson's disease and the dependence caused by psychoactive substances. For instance, alchohol, nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol and cocaine. Among the nAChRs found in the central nervous system (CNS), the subtypes alpha7 and alpha4beta2 are more abundant in comparison with the other nAChRs subtypes and ligands of these two receptors have potential as therapeutic agents. Exemplifying a relevant disease mentioned above, AD has around 7.7 million cases annually, according to World Health Organization (WHO). The nAChRs alpha7 presents neuroprotective effects, attenuating the neurotoxicity induced by beta-amyloid protein, and the modulation (by agonists) of this receptor is a promising approach for the treatment of AD. In parallel, tobacco addiction kills around 5.4 million people annually in the world and these deaths are related with the following diseases: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular diseases. An alternative to treat nicotine dependence is through the modulation by partial agonists of the nAChRs alpha4beta2, which is involved directly in the dopaminergic activation and in the development of dependence. In this context, this project aims the design, computational studies involving molecular docking, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of novel ligands of nAChRs alpha7 and alpha4beta2, through in vitro assays and function activity studies. (AU)
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