Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 15, Issue 12, 2008

Several observations in mice and in humans have collectively laid the foundation for examining the potential of γ δ T cells to exert tumor immunotherapy. Human γ δ T cells can be activated in a non-MHC dependent fashion either by low molecular mass phosphoantigens, or by agents that provoke the accumulation of endogenous pyrophosphates such as isopentenylpyrophosphate. Among the latter, aminobisphosphon Read More

The Src family consists of eight non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases characterised by a common structure. Based on their amino acid sequence, Src family kinases are grouped into two subfamilies, which are also characterised by different tissue specificity. Src kinases are involved in signal transduction pathways triggered by a wide variety of surface receptors, including receptor tyrosine kinases, integrins, G-protein-coupled Read More

The management of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has undergone rapid and radical evolution over the last few years. An improved understanding of the underlying biology of RCC has led to the approval of several new therapies directed against specific and relevant biological targets, so-called “targeted therapies.” These highly effective treatments are now entering routine use, however many questions still remain as to how be Read More

Protein kinase C (PKC) family members are multifunctional kinases that have been implicated in many cell biological and physiological tasks including acid, pepsinogen, and mucous production. Through the use of small-molecule PKC modulators, PKC has been found to be involved in gene expression, the control of cytoskeleton, membrane and secretagogue-dependent signal transduction for secretion of acid. Gastric carcin Read More

Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signaling, originally discovered as the pathway affected by an antifungal macrolide, exemplifies the potential of medicinal chemistry as a discovery tool. Three decades from its identification, signaling involving the TOR kinase has evolved into a complex network with a crucial role in vertebrate growth control. Specifically, it integrates signals to coordinate cell growth (i.e., enhanced mass Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of neurodegenerative disorders. If more effective therapies than the ones currently available are not developed that either prevent AD or other neurodegenerative or block progression of the diseases in its very early stages, the economic and societal cost of caring for AD patients will be devastating. Besides the neuropathologic hallmarks of the diseases, namely neurofibrill Read More

First described in 2000, nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF)/nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD) is a recently defined and sometimes fatal condition that, so far, has occurred only in people with some degree of renal failure, either during the conservative phase of chronic renal disease, the dialysis phase, or the kidney transplantation phase. The association between NSF/NFD and gadolinium-based magnetic resonance (M Read More

Acute ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and severe disability in industrialised countries and also in many developing countries. An excessive amount of free radicals is generated during cerebral ischemia, which significantly contributes to brain damage. Therefore, an increasing interest has been devoted to the potential benefits of antioxidant compounds in ischemic stroke patients. In this review, we examined th Read More