Current Drug Targets - Volume 6, Issue 5, 2005

“Current Drug Targets” has achieved notable growth during the last few years as evidenced by its favorable initial impact factor rating. An effort is now being made to best structure the journal in a unique niche. It has been decided that each issue will be focused on a particular topic related to drug targets in its broadest interpretation, introduced by a guest editor. Such issues have become very popular and examples of this ap Read More

Fibrinogen (Fg) is a precursor of fibrin, which is one of the main components of blood clots generated during the hemostatic response. Beyond its important role in hemostasis, Fg is involving in several physiologic and pathophysiologic states, such as infection, wound healing, the progression of certain types of tumors, and the severity of atherosclerosis. In addition, Fg has a critical role in maintaining pregnancy. Ovulation, fertiliz Read More

Transglutaminases are at least 9 enzymes which cross-link a number of proteins. This type of reaction not only enhances the original functions of substrate proteins, but also adds new functions to them. Factor XIII (FXIII) is a plasma transglutaminase circulating in blood as a heterotetramer and consisting of two catalytic A subunits and two non-catalytic B subunits. It is a proenzyme activated by thrombin in the blood coagula Read More

Factor XII, plasma prekallikrein and high molecular weight kininogen were first identified as coagulation proteins in the intrinsic pathway because patients deficient in these proteins had marked prolongation of in vitro surfaceactivated coagulation time. However, deficiencies of these proteins are not associated with clinical bleeding. Paradoxically, studies suggest that these proteins have anticoagulant and profibrinolytic activiti Read More

Antithrombin (AT) is an important regulator of the coagulation cascade because of its ability to efficiently inhibit proteases such as Factor (F) Xa and thrombin. Type I hereditary AT deficiency is characterized by a quantitative deficiency in the antigen and activity of AT to about 50% of normal. Type II hereditary AT deficiency is characterized by a normal antigenic level of AT, with a low level of activity due to a dysfunctional prot Read More

There is growing evidence that women with thrombophilia are at increased risk of pregnancy related venous thromboembolism and of adverse pregnancy outcome including pregnancy loss, pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth retardation and placental abruption. The factor V Leiden mutation is a heritable thrombophilia present in 5-8% of Caucasian populations. In its heterozygous form it is associated with a 4-to 8-fol Read More

Activated protein C (APC) is a strong inhibitor of coagulation, inactivating coagulation factors Va and VIIIa upon binding to protein S (PS) in the presence of thrombin and thrombomodulin. The normal concentration of PC in the plasma is approximately 4 μg/ml. Throughout pregnancy, PC activity and antigenic levels show no significant trend and remain within the normal reference range. Several PC point mutations have b Read More

Protein S is a natural anticoagulant. Congenital protein S (PS) deficiency is a confirmed risk factor of venous thromboembolism (DVT) which though occurs infrequently yet is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Congenital PS deficiency may also be responsible for obstetric complications such as preeclampsia/eclampsia, recurrent fetal loss and intrauterine fetal restriction. Congenital PS deficiency has been i Read More

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by a combination of clinical features consisted of thrombotic or pregnancy-related events and autoimmune antiphospholipid antibodies. In the 1998 International Consensus Preliminary Criteria, APS is defined by the concomitant presence of these clinical features and laboratory tests, including solid immunoassay and lupus anticoagulant (LAC). Current concept of antiphosphol Read More

In bipolar patients, maintenance treatment with anticonvulsive agents is a valid alternative to lithium. These agents have widely varying mechanisms of action. Some of these medications focus on the current understanding of antiglutamatergic mechanisms of action and their treatment implications for bipolar disorders.

Phenothiazinium based photosensitisers (PhBPs) possess planar heteroaromatic ring structures that give the parent molecules photosensitising properties. PhBPs show potential application in photodynamic therapy (PDT) as antitumour agents, and in photodynamic chemotherapy (PACT) as antimicrobial compounds. PhBPs show selectivity for tumour and microbial cells, which appears to be based on electrostatic interactions Read More