Current Drug Targets - Volume 13, Issue 12, 2012

The development of commercial reagents designed specifically for use with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue has unlocked the diagnostic potential of this prolific resource. The availability of archival FFPE tissue and tissue from current patients make it an ideal resource for molecular testing. Despite its stability and ability to preserve morphological information, FFPE provides a number of technical challenges Read More

Molecular profiling of cancers can potentially yield novel gene markers of therapeutic prediction, which would aid our ability to tailor targeted therapy regimens specific to each patient. Public data from gene expression profiling may yield clues as to what oncogenic signaling pathways are deregulated in cancers, and what drugs may effectively counteract the aberrant gene regulation patterns observed. Data are also avail Read More

Being a significant health problem that affects patients in various age groups, breast cancer has been extensively studied to date. Recently, molecular breast cancer classification has advanced significantly with the availability of genomic profiling technologies. Proteomic technologies have also advanced from traditional protein assays including enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblotting and immunohistoch Read More

Basal-like breast tumors and triple negative breast tumors are high-risk breast cancers that typically carry the poorest prognoses compared with HR (Hormone Receptor)-positive tumors and HER2 (Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2)-amplified tumors for known therapies. These subsets of breast cancers exhibit aggressive clinical behavior, pushing margins of invasion, poor clinical outcome, and derive limited ben Read More

Anti-cancer clinical drug development is currently costly and slow with a high attrition rate. There is thus an urgent and unmet need to integrate pharmacodynamic biomarkers into early phase clinical trials in the framework provided by the “pharmacologic audit trail” in order to overcome this challenge. This review discusses the rationale, advantages and disadvantages, as well as the practical considerations of various tissue-b Read More

Animal models of human cancer have evolved in attempts to capture the complexity of the human disease. They encompass two broad types of model, namely those in which the tumor arises in situ and those in which cancer cells or tissue are transplanted. Currently human tumor xenografts are the most widely used model to help predict antitumor efficacy in a preclinical setting and xenograft results for certain disease types Read More

Neurodegenerative diseases are increasing in prevalence in many countries as the average age of their populations increases, since many of these disorders occur more frequently in elderly individuals, placing an increasing burden on healthcare resources. Most neurodegenerative disorders are associated with accumulations of abnormal proteins in the central nervous system (CNS), which result in neuronal degeneration and ulti Read More

Computer simulation can be used to inform in vivo and in vitro experimentation, enabling rapid, low-cost hypothesis generation and directing experimental design in order to test those hypotheses. In this way, in silico models become a scientific instrument for investigation, and so should be developed to high standards, be carefully calibrated and their findings presented in such that they may be reproduced. Here, we outli Read More

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) remains a leading opportunistic infection in patients with weakened immune systems. The fungus causing the infection belongs to the genus, Pneumocystis, and its members are found in a large variety of mammals. Adaptation to the lung environment of a host with an intact immune system has been a key to its successful survival. Unfortunately, the metabolic strategies used by these fungi Read More