Current Drug Targets - Volume 16, Issue 4, 2015

The conserved cylindromatosis (CYLD) codes for a deubiquitinating enzyme and is a crucial regulator of diverse cellular processes such as immune responses, inflammation, death, and proliferation. It directly regulates multiple key signaling cascades, such as the Nuclear Factor kappa B [NFkB] and the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathways, by its catalytic activity on polyubiquitinated key intermediates. Several lines Read More

Research investigations on adipose tissue were focused for several decades on its “storage” function. Emerging evidence unveiled adipose tissue as an endocrine organ releasing a several mediators termed as adipokines. Adipokine-mediated functions include both physiological and pathophysiological roles such as regulation of energy metabolism, immune response and vascular homeostasis, as well as inflammatory Read More

Atherosclerosis is the main pathophysiological process underlying acute cardiovascular diseases. Life-threatening conditions, such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, are provoked by the sudden rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques, characterized by thin, highly inflamed and collagen-poor fibrous cap. Whereas both innate and adaptive inflammation progressively emerged as driving force of this processes Read More

Atherosclerosis and its major acute complications, myocardial infarction and stroke, are the leading causes of death and morbidity worldwide. Despite major advances in cardiovascular intervention and healthcare, improving preventive care and treatment remains a continuous mission for cardiovascular research. Within the last 10 to 15 years, the endocannabinoid system has emerged as an important lipid signaling syste Read More

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease leading to cardiovascular diseases responsible for a high level of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Increasing evidence tends to hold that humoral and cellular immune responses are a key component of human atherosclerosis development. Since the last decade, auto-antibodies have been identified as active mediators of cardiovascular disease, some presentin Read More

Sodium-hydrogen exchangers (NHEs) and aquaporins (AQPs) are key regulators of cell volume and intracellular ions both in physiological and pathological conditions. By directly affecting water and ion exchanges across the plasma membrane, NHEs and AQPs, particularly isoforms 1, can also influence vascular tone and the cytoskeleton, respectively, in response to several types of stimuli, such as hypertonic stress. NHE-1 Read More

The awareness that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition of dramatically increased cardiovascular risk has prompted an intense research activity, aimed at identifying factors that are specifically involved in the development of cardiovascular complications of CKD and that can be delayed or reduced by novel pharmacological approaches. This may be the case with indoxyl sulfate (IS). IS is an endogenous molecule Read More

Atherosclerosis, the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the leading cause of death worldwide, is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease, which, clinically manifests from early lipid-rich lesions to plaque rupture and/or thrombosis in the arterial wall. The myeloid cell compartment, including macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs), is long known to contribute to the initiation and progression of ather Read More

In the last 20 years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have become the most promising class of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for human cancer. From a therapeutic perspective, advances in the understanding of the molecular role of miRNAs in the pathological processes have significantly influenced the selection of new therapeutic modalities. Moreover, the intrinsic characteristics that confer stability to miRNAs in vitro, allo Read More

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily (TNFSF) contains about thirty structurally related receptors (TNFSFRs) and about twenty protein ligands that bind to one or more of these receptors. Almost all of these cell surface protein-protein interactions (PPIs) represent high-value therapeutic targets for inflammatory or immune modulation in autoimmune diseases, transplant recipients, or cancers, and there are s Read More