Regulators of the hedgehog pathway, compositions and uses related thereto

A pharmaceutical preparation comprising a steroidal alkaloid represented in the general formulas (I), or unsaturated forms thereof and/or seco-, nor- or homo-derivatives thereof:

• 46
• wherein, as valence and stability permit,
• R2, R3, R4, and R5, represent one or more substitutions to the ring to which each is attached, for each occurrence, independently represent hydrogen, halogens, alkyls, alkenyls, alkynyls, aryls, hydroxyl, ═O, ═S, alkoxyl, silyloxy, amino, nitro, thiol, amines, imines, amides, phosphoryls, phosphonates, phosphines, carbonyls, carboxyls, carboxamides, anhydrides, silyls, ethers, thioethers, alkylsulfonyls, arylsulfonyls, selenoethers, ketones, aldehydes, esters, or —(CH2)m—R8;
• R6, R7, and R′7, are absent or represent, independently, halogens, alkyls, alkenyls, alkynyls, aryls, hydroxyl, ═O, ═S, alkoxyl, silyloxy, amino, nitro, thiol, amines, imines, amides, phosphoryls, phosphonates, phosphines, carbonyls, carboxyls, carboxamides, anhydrides, silyls, ethers, thioethers, alkylsulfonyls, arylsulfonyls, selenoethers, ketones, aldehydes, esters, or —(CH2)m—R8, or
• R6 and R7, or R7 and R′7, taken together form a ring or polycyclic ring, e.g., which is substituted or unsubstituted,
• with the proviso that at least one of R6, R7, or R′7 is present and includes a primary or secondary amine;
• R8 represents an aryl, a cycloalkyl, a cycloalkenyl, a heterocycle, or a polycycle;
• and
• m is an integer in the range 0 to 8 inclusive.