Thiazole small molecules spark cell differentiation

05-Mar-2013 - United Kingdom

A series of thiazole-containing small molecules has been synthesised and the ability of each analogue to induce differentiation in human pluripotent stem cells has been investigated.

Andy Whiting et al state that the molecule with the longest, most bulky hydrophobic side chain was found to possess cell-differentiation activity on a level comparable with naturally occurring retinoid ATRA (all-trans-retinoic acid) – a major metabolite of vitamin A that is involved in many important biological pathways.

Whiting’s group also studied the effect of subtle modifications to the molecules’ structure, specifically the bulky side chain. A knowledge of such structure-activity relationships is thought to be crucial to chemists’ ability to design new biologically active compounds.

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