Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 14, Issue 27, 2007

Stress or heat shock proteins (Hsps) Hsp90, Hsp70 and Hsp27 are chaperones that assist the proteins in their folding, stability, assembly into multi-protein complexes and transport across cellular membranes. The expression of some of them is highly induced in response to a wide variety of physiological and environmental insults. Hsps have a dual function depending on their intracellular or extracellular location. Intracellular Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia, and its effective disease modifying therapies are desperately needed. Promotion of non-amyloidogenic alpha (α)-secretase cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) to release soluble sAPPα, based on the most widely accepted “amyloid model” as a plausible mechanism for AD treatment, is the focus of this review. Modulation of α-secretase or “a disint Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia. Although the etiology of AD remains controversial, the amyloid hypothesis suggests that β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides may contribute to brain dysfunction, and microglial activation has become increasingly regarded as a potential contributor to disease pathogenesis. Microglial activation is characterized by morphological changes and by production of various effectors, and acti Read More

Neuraminidase is a major glycoprotein of influenza virus which is essential for viral infection and offers a potential target for antiviral drug development. Rational drug design of NA inhibitors is now in the clinic and these molecules are effective and safe for the treatment of influenza. Recently, research of structure-based NA inhibitors is becoming an interesting field, leading to a breakthrough in the control of influenza Read More

In multicellular organisms, unnecessary or harmful cells, such as those that are cancerous or infected with a virus, are eliminated by apoptosis. After apoptosis, cell corpses are rapidly recognized and phagocytosed by professional phagocytes, such as macrophages and dendritic cells. The rapid removal of cell corpses by phagocytes prevents the release of potentially toxic or immunogenic materials from dying cells. Althou Read More

Topical immunization (TI) is novel and needle free strategy involving vaccine delivery through topical application of antigen and adjuvant(s) directly or via a suitable carrier system on intact skin. Anatomy and physiology of skin attracts scientists in developing topical carrier system(s) for enhanced delivery of bioactive(s). Numerous techniques i.e. physical, chemical and vesicular carrier systems have been exploited for to Read More

The wide biochemical diversity of glycolipids in membranes explains why these molecules are often selected by pathogens (viruses, bacteria, prions) as primary sites of interactions with the cell surface. Moreover, glycolipids concentrate into cholesterol/ glycolipid-rich microdomains where they can reach high local concentrations consistent with the multivalent attachment of pathogens on the cell surface. Finally, recent stu Read More

Women have a higher percentage of body fat than men, and there is a gender-specific difference in fat distribution: Females tend to accumulate fat around the hips, buttocks, and thighs while men have a larger intra-abdominal (visceral) fat mass. After menopause, there is a redistribution of fat depots, and post-menopausal women develop increased amounts of visceral fat. The risk of developing obesity-related diseases is signifi Read More

The blood protein fibrinogen as a ligand for integrin and non-integrin receptors functions as the molecular nexus of coagulation, inflammation and immunity. Studies in animal models and in human disease have demonstrated that extravascular fibrinogen that is deposited in tissues upon vascular rupture is not merely a marker, but a mediator of diseases with an inflammatory component, such as rheumatoid arthritis, mul Read More

Hearing loss (deafness) affects approximately 250 million people globally. The major cause of deafness is loss of hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons due to aging, antibiotic use, noise exposure, and genetic defects. At the present time, there is no effective method for restoration of hearing biologically. Cochlear stem cells/progenitors (CSCs), quiescent in the organ of Corti, are excellent candidates for restoration of c Read More

In our review entitled ‘Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury, Antioxidant Enzyme Systems, and Selenium: A Review’ in the Current Medicinal Chemistry, 2007, 14, 1539 -1549. We wish to correct a mistake in the authorship of the manuscript. It should be read as: Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury, Antioxidant Enzyme Systems, and Selenium: A Review Kylie M. Venardos1, Anthony Perkins2, John Headrick2, David Read More