Current Drug Targets - Volume 6, Issue 4, 2005

Recently, we discovered oxidized galectin-1 as a factor that regulates initial axonal growth in the peripheral nerve after axotomy. Galectin-1 is a member of the galectins, a family of animal lectins ranging from Caenorhabditis elegans to humans, which is defined by their affinity for β-galactosides and by significant sequence similarity in the carbohydrate-binding site. Galectin-1 is a homodimer with a subunit molecular Read More

Although many factors have been implicated in the regenerative response of peripheral axons to nerve injury, the signals that prompt neurons to extend processes in peripheral nerves after axotomy are not well-understood. As shown in the first chapter, oxidized recombinant human galectin-1 (rhGAL-1/Ox), which lacks lectin activity, promotes initial axonal growth in an in vitro peripheral nerve regeneration model at low conc Read More

Adult skeletal muscles have a vigorous regenerative capacity in response to chemical, mechanical or physical injuries. Muscle satellite cells play a critical role in skeletal muscle regeneration. Activated satellite cells (myoblasts) proliferate and then differentiate. Differentiated myoblasts fuse with each other to form multinucleated myotubes, and the growth of myotubes is induced by both fusion with additional myoblasts and r Read More

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects almost selectively motor neurons in the central nervous system. Most ALS patients die within five years of onset. One of the neuropathological features of ALS is an “axonal spheroid,” a large swelling of a motor axon within the anterior horn of the spinal cord; this abnormal structure seems to be related to the pathogenesis of motor neuro Read More

Galectin-1 (Gal1) was the first identified member of the galectin family of β-galactosidase-binding proteins. Gal1 has important roles in processes fundamental to growth and survival of an organism, including cell adhesion, cell proliferation and apoptosis, and is expressed in many tissues, including the nervous system. In the 1980s, research focused on the developmental regulation of Gal1 expression during neurogenesis. Read More

Astrocytes are a major cell type in the central nervous system (CNS). They are considered to act in cooperation with neurons and other glial cells and to participate in the development and maintenance of functions of the CNS. Immature astrocytes possess a polygonal shape and have no processes, and continue to proliferate, while mature astrocytes have a stellate cell morphology, increased glial fibrillary acidic protein e Read More

In mammals, the regulation of the cell fate to either proliferate, differentiate, arrest cell growth, or initiate programmed cell death is the most fundamental mechanism for maintaining normal cell function and tissue homeostasis. Under multiple signaling pathways, Jun and Fos family proteins are known to play important roles as components of an AP-1 (activator protein-1) complex, to regulate the transcription of vari Read More

Vascular complications result in disabilities and short life expectancy in diabetic patients. During prolonged hyperglycemic exposure, non-enzymatically glycated protein derivatives termed advanced glycation endproducts (AGE) are formed at an accelerated rate and accumulated in blood and in tissues. Studies performed in vitro and in vivo revealed AGE and their receptor RAGE as the major accounts for vascular cel Read More

Prolonged hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in diabetes result in the production and accumulation of AGEs. It is now clear that AGEs contribute to the development and progression of cardiovascular disease in diabetes, as well as other complications. AGEs are thought to act through receptor-independent and dependent mechanisms to promote vascular damage, fibrosis and inflammation associated with acc Read More

Most long-term diabetic patients develop microvascular diseases such as retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy. Although tight control of blood glucose greatly reduces the incidence of these complications, a significant fraction of diabetic patients with good glycemic control still develop these diseases. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the underlying mechanisms of these diseases such that effective treatment or Read More

Both the macro- and microvascular complications adversely affect the life quality of patients with diabetes and have been the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in this population. With the advancement of technologies in biomedical research, we have gained a great deal of understanding of the mechanisms underlying these complications. While euglycemic control still remains the best strategy, it is often diff Read More

Both protein kinase C (PKC) activation and increased oxidative stress have been paid attention to as important causative factors for diabetic vascular complications. In this article, we show a PKC-dependent increase in oxidative stress in vascular tissues of diabetes and insulin resistant state. High glucose level and free fatty acids stimulate de novo diacylglycerol (DAG)-PKC pathway and subsequently stimulate reactive o Read More

In diabetes, oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathogenesis of vascular complications, and an early step of such damage is considered to be the development of an endothelial dysfunction. Hyperglycemia directly promotes an endothelial dysfunction inducing process of overproduction of superoxide and consequently peroxynitrite, that damages DNA and activates the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. This pro Read More

Retinal neovascularization and macular edema are central features of diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness in working age adults. The currently established treatment for diabetic retinopathy targets the vascular pathology by laser photocoagulation. This approach is associated with significant adverse effects due the destruction of neural tissue and is not always effective. Characterization of the molecular and cellular Read More

For a long time it has been known that obesity (adiposity) is linked to insulin resistance. Recently, many investigators have reported that adipocytes secrete a variety of bioactive molecules, termed adipokines (adipocytokines), including TNFα, IL-6, leptin, adiponectin, resistin and so on. These adipokines play pivotal roles in energy homeostasis by affecting insulin sensitivity, glucose and lipid metabolisms, food intake, the coagul Read More