Current Drug Targets - Volume 15, Issue 13, 2014

Oxidative stress is linked with many pathologies ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders and antioxidants have presumably therapeutic value in such diseases. In this review, we categorize different direct and indirect mechanisms by which antioxidants exert their action. These include scavenging and metal chelating effects, mimicking the antioxidant enzymes or upregulation of their expression, activation Read More

Optimal identification of the risk of developing cardiotoxicity upon trastuzumab (TZM) treatment appears necessary as this risk may impair treatment compliance and compromise long-term recovery. To better understand and predict cardiac toxicity, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon need to be known. HER2 is present at the cell surface of cardiomyocytes. Neuregulin is produced by cardia Read More

Rituximab has demonstrated a major effect in B-cell lymphoma and in a wide range of autoimmune disorders. Unfortunately, the blood-brain-barrier excludes the disorders restricted to the central nervous system (CNS) from the action of rituximab. The progressive phase of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a prototypical CNS autoimmune disorder characterized by an intrathecal compartmentalization of inflammation resistin Read More

Androgen and androgen receptor (AR) play a critical role in the development of prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has become the therapeutic mainstay for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. ADT can reduce the serum testosterone level from the normal range between 500 and 600 ng/dl to the castrate level. Following surgical castration, the serum testosterone level decreases to less than 20 ng Read More

Although the extended RAS analysis allows a better identification of patients potentially candidates to anti- EGFR monoclonal antibodies, a significant proportion of tumours may still reveals refractory to such a treatment approach. In these latter cases patients are then exposed to unnecessary toxicities without clinical benefit. Among many further biological factors that may have a role in determining resistance/sen Read More

Growing evidence indicates that overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays a prominent role in the development of cardio- and cerebro-vascular diseases. Among the mechanisms identified to produce oxidative stress in the vascular wall, those mediated by membrane-bound NAD(P)H oxidases represent a major one. NAD(P)H oxidases are a family of enzymes that generate ROS both in phagocytic and non-pha Read More

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer in the world and has not seen improved survival rates over the past few decades. Current treatment plans include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, but these are relatively ineffective options for recurrent or metastatic tumors. Therefore, there is a high priority for new therapies that specifically target the resistant HNSCC cancer Read More