Current Drug Targets - Volume 16, Issue 8, 2015

Aging affects endogenous stem cells in terms of functionality and numbers. In particular, during aging, the stemness property can decrease because of enhanced apoptotic cell death and senescence. In addition, aging and agingrelated co-morbidities affect the paracrine activity of stem cells and the efficiency of their transplantation. Collectively, this leads to a reduction of the capacity of organs to repair themselves, pos Read More

Research data from the past decade indicate that noble gases like xenon and helium exert profound cardioprotection when applied before, during or afte r organ ischemia. Of all noble gases, especially helium, has gained interest in the past years because it does not have an anesthetic “side effect” like xenon, allowing application of this specific gas in numerous clinical ischemia/reperfusion situations. Because helium has seve Read More

The infusion of autologous stem cells has recently been put forward as an alternative strategy to regenerate infarcted myocardium and restore the contractile functions of diseased hearts. A growing number of cell types have been probed to induce cardiac repair in several animal models of ischemic myocardium, including human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs), human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), human mesenchymal st Read More

Heat shock proteins play important housekeeping roles in a variety of cells within the body during normal control conditions. The many different functions for heat shock proteins in the cell depend upon the specific heat shock protein involved. Each protein is nominally differentiated based upon its molecular size. However, in addition to their role in normal cell function, heat shock proteins may play an even more important Read More

The adult myocardium has limited capacity to preserve, renew or rejuvenate itself. The local microenvironment may induce epigenetic changes affecting the survival, proliferation, function and senescence of cardiac cells at rest and following the exposure to different stressors. The cellular response to microenvironment is characterized by the release of ions, oxygen free radicals, auto/paracrine factors and RNAs that drive t Read More

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death, chronic illness and disability in Western countries. The most common cause of CVD derives from the harmful effects of acute myocardial ischemia and subsequent reperfusion injury. Cardioprotection against acute ischemia/ reperfusion injury is made possible by the "conditioning protocols." Conditioning is obtained by applying a few periods of brief ischemia a Read More

The hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels play an important role in the generation of pacemaker activity of cardiac sinoatrial node cells and immature cardiomyocytes. HCN channels are also present in adult atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes, where the physiological role is currently under investigation. In different cardiac pathologies, dysfunctional HCN channels have been suggested to b Read More

Recently, the hypothalamic 82-aa peptide Nesfatin-1 received notable attention for its anorexigenic and anti-hyperglycemic properties. In mammalian hypothalamus, Nesfatin-1 is expressed, together with the precursor Nucleobindin 2 (NUCB2), in regions controlling water-food intake, body weight, and glucose homeostasis. The peptide is also peripherally expressed, as shown in the rat heart, in which it is present toget Read More

The adult heart has the capacity to generate new myocytes that are markedly enhanced in acute and chronic heart failure of ischemic and non-ischemic origin. In addition, a pool of blood trafficking progenitor cells able to sense myocardial damage may home to the sites of injury participating to cardiac repair. This new view of myocardial biology leads to an expanding long-term research and therapeutic goals for Read More

Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species are produced endogenously by cardiomyocytes and are fundamental signaling molecules that regulate cellular function. Production of ROS and RNS is finely tuned to maintain proper myocardial function, but is altered in many pathophysiological conditions, therefore contributing to worsening myocardial dysfunction and ultimately heart failure. Indeed, an exces Read More

Ischemic heart disease including myocardial infarction develops on the basis of several risk-factors and comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide, therefore, identification of novel drug targets for cardioprotection is of great importance. Ischemic preconditioning, postconditioning, and remote conditioning trigger endoge Read More

Mitochondria are known to play crucial roles in normal cellular physiology and in more recent years they have been implicated in a wide range of pathologies. Central to both these roles is their ability to alter their shape interchangeably between two different morphologies: an elongated interconnected network and a fragmented discrete phenotype - processes which are under the regulation of the mitochondrial fusion an Read More