Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 17, Issue 34, 2010

The Pim (provirus insertion site of Moloney murine leukemia virus) family of serine/threonine protein kinases possesses the fundamental characteristics critical for the biology of eukaryotes, in particular, survival and malignant transformation of cells. The members of this protein family (Pim-1 to Pim-3) are aberrantly expressed in human tumors, most frequently in prostate cancer and hematological malignancies. Read More

Many diseases and/or physical defects due to injury result in the loss of specialized cells within organ systems and lead to organ system dysfunction. The ultimate goal of cell-based therapies is to regenerate and restore normal function. Populations of embryonic, fetal, adult stem cells and inducible pluripotent stem cells generated by reprogramming of adult cells show promise for the treatment of a variety of diseases. In a Read More

Increases or decreases in the contractile response of smooth muscle underlie important pathological conditions such as hypertension, incontinence and altered gastrointestinal transit. These disorders are also frequently encountered in the aged population. Oxidative stress and inflammation are key features in the initiation, progression, and clinical manifestations of smooth muscle disorders. Melatonin, the major secretory produc Read More

Excessive stimulation of NMDA receptors is involved in various CNS pathologies such as Parkinson's disease, acute and chronic pain and cerebral ischaemia. The use of NMDA antagonists as therapeutic agents has been restricted as a result of unwanted side effects including hallucinations and loss of co-ordination. NR2B subtype selective antagonists have previously shown a therapeutic effect without causing the side effects of Read More

Gap junction channels, assembled from connexins, mediate communication and signaling between adjacent cells by allowing the passage of ions, metabolites and signaling molecules. Their physiological significance and importance in cellular homeostasis is reflected by the fact that their dysfunction leads to a multitude of pathologies. However, the complex physiological and pathophysiological roles of connexins are not w Read More

High-throughput screening (HTS) is one of the most powerful approaches available for identifying new lead compounds for the growing catalogue of validated drug targets. However, just as virtual and experimental HTS have accelerated lead identification and changed drug discovery, they have also introduced a large number of peculiar molecules. Some of these have turned out to be interesting for further optimization, ot Read More

Diabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of end-stage renal failure worldwide. Its morphologic characteristics include glomerular hypertrophy, basement membrane thickening, mesangial expansion, tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis and arteriolar thickening. All of these are part and parcel of microvascular complications of diabetes. A large body of evidence indicates that oxidative stress is the common denominator link for Read More