Towards the synthesis of small non-carbohydrate mimics of Galectin-3 inhibitors for CNS diseases.
(2025) KASM20 20251Centre for Analysis and Synthesis
- Abstract
- Galectins are small, carbohydrate-binding proteins widely distributed among different cells and tissues in the human body. Due to their abundance, these proteins are involved in many processes and diseases. Among the different types of galectins found in the human body, galectin-1 and galectin-3 are the most common, thus the most targeted and studied. Particularly, galectin-3 is the only chimeric protein belonging to this family. This means that this protein contains two carbohydrate-binding domains: a C-terminal domain and a non-lectin N-domain. Galectin-3 is known to play a role in many diseases. Among the key roles of this protein is the facilitation of pro-inflammatory processes. Neuroinflammation is one of the main characteristics of... (More)
- Galectins are small, carbohydrate-binding proteins widely distributed among different cells and tissues in the human body. Due to their abundance, these proteins are involved in many processes and diseases. Among the different types of galectins found in the human body, galectin-1 and galectin-3 are the most common, thus the most targeted and studied. Particularly, galectin-3 is the only chimeric protein belonging to this family. This means that this protein contains two carbohydrate-binding domains: a C-terminal domain and a non-lectin N-domain. Galectin-3 is known to play a role in many diseases. Among the key roles of this protein is the facilitation of pro-inflammatory processes. Neuroinflammation is one of the main characteristics of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The current treatment for this disease consists of temporarily mitigating its symptoms. Thus, the motivation for this project is to target galectin-3 in order to find a possible Alzheimer’s disease treatment. More specifically, a new possible galectin-3 inhibitor has been designed. This new compound is designed to mimic a known galectin-3 inhibitor and should be capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. Moreover, a novel synthetic route has been meticulously devised, and a chemoselective oxidation has been conducted to advance the progression toward the target molecule. Nevertheless, the final step of the synthesis was not executed, and consequently, the target compound was not acquired. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Small molecule design and creation towards the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.
According to the World Health Organization, during 2021 Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias were one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Currently, this disease has no cure, only treatments that help with the symptoms temporarily. This is the reason why finding new ways to target this disease is so important.
Galectins are a family of proteins found in animals. These proteins are found in different diseases. More specifically, galectin-3 is expressed in many tissues and cell types, and it plays a key role in different diseases, such as cancer, fibrosis, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Since galectin-3 is related to Alzheimer’s disease, it is a good... (More) - Small molecule design and creation towards the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.
According to the World Health Organization, during 2021 Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias were one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Currently, this disease has no cure, only treatments that help with the symptoms temporarily. This is the reason why finding new ways to target this disease is so important.
Galectins are a family of proteins found in animals. These proteins are found in different diseases. More specifically, galectin-3 is expressed in many tissues and cell types, and it plays a key role in different diseases, such as cancer, fibrosis, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Since galectin-3 is related to Alzheimer’s disease, it is a good approach to target and prevent this protein from acting, to find new treatments for this lethal disease. Nowadays, different molecules have already been discovered that prevent galectin-3 from working, however, none of the existing molecules can reach the brain. The aim of this project was therefore to create a new drug to act on galectin-3, that can reach the brain. This new drug should mimic previous molecules that have the desired effect on the protein. And for this molecule to act against Alzheimer’s, it should be small and fatty to get into the brain.
Our hypothesis was that a new molecule for this purpose could be created. To do this, a series of different reactions were tried in order to obtain the desired molecule. However, due to the challenging chemistry, this new molecule was not created. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9201530
- author
- Serrano Rueda, Marta LU
- supervisor
-
- Ulf Nilsson LU
- organization
- course
- KASM20 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Galectins, Galectin-3, organic chemistry
- language
- English
- id
- 9201530
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-18 14:42:50
- date last changed
- 2025-06-18 14:42:50
@misc{9201530,
abstract = {{Galectins are small, carbohydrate-binding proteins widely distributed among different cells and tissues in the human body. Due to their abundance, these proteins are involved in many processes and diseases. Among the different types of galectins found in the human body, galectin-1 and galectin-3 are the most common, thus the most targeted and studied. Particularly, galectin-3 is the only chimeric protein belonging to this family. This means that this protein contains two carbohydrate-binding domains: a C-terminal domain and a non-lectin N-domain. Galectin-3 is known to play a role in many diseases. Among the key roles of this protein is the facilitation of pro-inflammatory processes. Neuroinflammation is one of the main characteristics of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The current treatment for this disease consists of temporarily mitigating its symptoms. Thus, the motivation for this project is to target galectin-3 in order to find a possible Alzheimer’s disease treatment. More specifically, a new possible galectin-3 inhibitor has been designed. This new compound is designed to mimic a known galectin-3 inhibitor and should be capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. Moreover, a novel synthetic route has been meticulously devised, and a chemoselective oxidation has been conducted to advance the progression toward the target molecule. Nevertheless, the final step of the synthesis was not executed, and consequently, the target compound was not acquired.}},
author = {{Serrano Rueda, Marta}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Towards the synthesis of small non-carbohydrate mimics of Galectin-3 inhibitors for CNS diseases.}},
year = {{2025}},
}