Current Drug Targets - Inflammation & Allergy - Volume 3, Issue 4, 2004

The nuclear receptor superfamily comprises a large group of transcription factors that play a key regulatory role in development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. A special feature of nuclear receptors is their ability to bind to condensed chromatin templates, which makes them important initiators of gene transcription. Moreover, the ability of nuclear receptors to sequentially recruit a variety of transcription fact Read More

Glucocorticoids are well known for their potent anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressive actions. Their clinical usefulness remains limited due to serious side effects that have necessitated a search for ways of improving their benefit-risk ratios. Mechanistically, glucocorticoids function by interacting with an intracellular receptor, the glucocorticoid receptor, a ligand-regulated transcription factor that positively or negatively Read More

While retinoids are largely used for their anti-proliferative and pro-differentiative effects, a rich body of literature suggests that retinoid nuclear receptors-related pathways can have profound influence on the outcome of immune and inflammatory reactions. Retinoid receptors related pathways modulate immune responses both at the innate and the adaptive level by altering skin barrier, neutrophil function, antibodies Read More

The three peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) isotypes (PPARα, β / δ and γ) belong to the nuclear hormone receptor family. During the last decade, they have been identified as anti-inflammatory transcription factors. Part of this regulation antiinflammatory is mediated through negative interference between PPARs and other nuclear factors such as NFκB, AP-1 and C / EBP, which regulate innate as well as adapta Read More

Beyond its effects on bone metabolism, calcium and phosphorus homeostasis, 1,25- dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3, calcitriol) exerts profound effects on the immune system. We here provide an overview over the metabolism, molecular and cellular action of 1,25(OH)2D3 with particular regard to its immunomodulatory function. Effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 on the immune system are manyfold and include suppression of T cell Read More

Retinoid-related orphan receptors RORα, -β, and -γ are evolutionarily related transcription factors belonging to the steroid hormone receptor superfamily. Studies of ROR mutant mice revealed that these receptors are critical in the regulation of a number of physiological processes. RORα plays a key role in the development of the cerebellum particularly in the regulation of Purkinje cell differentiation and proliferation of gra Read More

Among the numerous steroidal and orphan nuclear receptors encoded within mammalian genomes, several are involved in the regulation of apoptosis. The authors review here recent studies on members of the Nur77 family of orphan receptors including Nur77, Nurr1 and Nor-1. These transcription factors were initially identified in nerve cells, but also play key roles in the development and the effector functions of T lym Read More

Differential sex-specific liability to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and changes in symptom severity in association with physiological fluctuations in gonadal secretions are indicative of significant contribution of sex hormones to the regulation of immune responsiveness. Apart from a postulated role in sex-specific organization of the immune system during ontogeny, gonadal steroids may influence the immune respo Read More

Inflammatory bowel disease is a systemic illness that may involve the lung. The most frequent manifestation is bronchial inflammation and suppuration with or without bronchiectasis. Bronchoalveolar lavage data show an increase percentage of neutrophils and steroids are very effective in the majority of cases. Some patients present severe tracheal inflammation and obstruction with an inflammatory mass bulging into th Read More

The collagen vascular diseases are a heterogeneous group of immunologically-mediated inflammatory disorders. Frequently, these diseases affect organ systems outside the thorax as their primary manifestation, but may involve the pleura as a single presenting feature, as part of multisystem involvement, or as an isolated manifestation of a disease that is otherwise quiescent. In this article, we review the manifestations of res Read More

Various pleuro-pulmonary abnormalities are known to complicate vascular collagen diseases, particularly, rheumatoid arthritis. Each component of the respiratory system is affected, either separately or in combination. Although most pulmonary complications appear in an established case of collagen vascular disease, in certain conditions, the lung disease precedes the more typical manifestation. While some complications ar Read More

Insulin deficiency induces an increase in blood glucose levels that, in long run, becomes toxic for many organs and systems. Microangiopathy and derangements in the immune function are known consequences of hyperglycemia, but the way in which these systemic alterations may affect pulmonary function has been scarcely investigated. Although confirmation from large clinical trials is still to come, the diabetic disease s Read More

Secondary pulmonary hypertension (sPH) may develop as a result of few systemic diseases as endocrine diseases, HIV infection, collagen diseases, liver and hematological disorders. In this review we discuss the role of systemic diseases in inducing PH starting from a pathological classification.

Lymphoproliferative disorders affecting the lung are infrequent. Therefore the diagnosis is often not easy, specially when the lung is primary affected. Moreover, new clinical-pathological entities are responsible of primary lung lymphoma that require specific treatment. It is important to keep in mind the chance that lung may be involved by lymphoproliferative disorders so to avoid the mistake of the misdiagnosis of this c Read More