Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 14, Issue 21, 2007

The human kinome describes a major group of intracellular signalling molecules. In the last few years, many molecules in the group have become targets for therapeutic interventions. Due to the conserved reaction mechanism of catalysis, protein kinases seem well “drugable” by small molecular weight inhibitors, thus opening the chance to novel oral bioavailable drug development. A large number of small molecule wei Read More

Allergic diseases constitute a major health issue worldwide. Mainstay treatment constitutes allergen avoidance and pharmacotherapy for symptom relief, but allergen immunotherapy offers advantages of specific treatment with long lasting efficacy, and being able to modify the course of the disease. Conventional immunotherapy involves the subcutaneous injection of gradually increasing amounts of allergen extract but the u Read More

Three major mucosal systems exist in the body, the oral-gastrointestinal, the respiratory and the genitourinary systems. In particular, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract contains the largest mucosal surface in the body and is the major port of entry for foreign antigens. Therefore, the gut immune system has to differentiate to tolerate dietary antigens and expel infectious and harmful pathogens. During the complex but we Read More

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two different inflammatory disorders of the lungs which share a common functional abnormality, i.e. airflow limitation [1,2]. In asthma, airflow limitation is largely reversible, either spontaneously or with treatment, and does not progress in most cases [1]. On the other hand, airflow limitation in COPD is usually progressive and poorly reversible [2]. In asthma, the Read More

Chemokine receptors are a target of growing interest for new therapeutic drugs, as their role in multiple disease states has been demonstrated. The CXCR4/ CXCL12 pairing has been implicated in HIV and cancer, as well as chronic inflammatory diseases, including asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. HIV uses CXCR4 or CCR5 receptors in the key binding step of the infection process, leading to the idea that drugs could be deve Read More

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a 30,400 daltons glycoprotein, consisting of 165 amino acids produced mainly in the kidney and in the liver and regulating erythrocyitosis. It primarily acts on erythroid precursor cell at colony-forming units-erythroid stage inhibiting the apoptosis. EPO binds on a specific membrane receptor thereby activating at least three specific intracellular signaling pathways, such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/ prot Read More

Gap junctions, intercellular channels structured by the connexin protein family, have been implicated in the control of cell homeostasis, proliferation, differentiation and death. A loss of the gap junction intercellular communication and/or connexin dysfunction are typical features of cancer per se and have been associated with the effect of many carcinogens. Indeed, many early human neoplasia of various organs an Read More

Sialic acid-containing oligosaccharides expressed on the respiratory tract epithelial cell surface are involved in influenza virus infection in both virus attaching and detaching processes. Therefore, inhibition of sialic acid-binding processes provides rational anti-influenza strategies. Previous exploring efforts using monosaccharide sialic acid-bearing macromolecules provided proof of concept for multivalent hemagglutinin inhi Read More

Critically ill patients are at high risk for developing acute renal failure (ARF). The prevention of ARF is of outmost importance in order to improve the increased morbidity and mortality associated with ARF. Unfortunately, there is lack of adequate endogenous markers that can identify renal dysfunction early - this hampers timely application of measures to prevent further renal damage. The use of exogenous markers of ren Read More