Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 19, Issue 12, 2012

Immune suppression induced by chemotherapeutic agents (chemotherapy, CT) and ionizing irradiation (radiotherapy, RT) has often been the cause for a contraindication to combine “classical” tumor therapies with immune therapy (IT). As a single treatment, IT achieved less success as expected. During the last years it has become more and more evident that besides a timely (CT and RT) and locally (RT) restricted immu Read More

During the last decade, a multitude of experimental evidence has accumulated showing that low-dose radiation therapy (single dose 0.5-1 Gy) functionally modulates a variety of inflammatory processes and cellular compounds including endothelial (EC), mononuclear (PBMC) and polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells, respectively. These modulations comprise a hampered leukocyte adhesion to EC, induction of apoptosis, Read More

Although cancer progression is primarily driven by the expansion of tumor cells, the tumor microenvironment and anti-tumor immunity also play important roles. Herein, we consider how tumors can become established by escaping immune surveillance and also how cancer cells can be rendered visible to the immune system by standard therapies such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, either alone or in combination wit Read More

Together with surgery and chemotherapy, ionizing irradiation is one of the key therapeutic approaches to treat cancer. More than 50 percent of all cancer patients will receive radiotherapeutic intervention at some stage of their disease. The more precise instrumentation for delivery of radiotherapy and the emphasis on hypofractionation technologies have drastically improved loco-regional tumor control within the last d Read More

The crosstalk of natural killer (NK) and dendritic cells (DCs) plays an important role in the induction of the tumor-specific immune response against cancer. During the last decade, our advanced understanding of the immune system led to the development of new therapeutic strategies in the field of immunotherapy and cellular immunology. However, these immunotherapeutic concepts have not been as successful as initially e Read More

In recent years, the effects of cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CT/RT) regimens as they apply to the immune system have been explored. NK cells represent the main cytotoxic arm of the innate immune system, and their functionality is vital to establishing an effective anti tumor immune response. This review examines current CT/RT interventions in light of their effects on NK cell functionality. The effects of CT/RT Read More

Since 1948, when Farber et al. introduced aminopterin, the first chemotherapeutic agent, more than 100 such agents have come into use. Initially, antitumor chemotherapies were thought to produce only antiproliferative or cytotoxic effects on dividing tumor cells as it was often associated with the damage to healthy tissues and the development of resistant tumor clones. However, that view has been changing as a consequence Read More

Dose-limiting toxicity to healthy tissues is among the major hurdles in anticancer treatment along with intrinsic or acquired multi-drug resistance. Development of small molecule inhibitors (SMI) specific for antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins is a novel approach in a way that these antagonists are aimed to interfere with specific protein-protein interactions unlike conventional chemo-/radiotherapies. SMIs of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protei Read More

Src family of protein tyrosine kinases (SFKs) plays key roles in the regulation of signal transductions in cellular processes. However, hyper-activated SFKs lead to uncontrolled cell proliferation and cancers. Src-targeted compounds were developed to block the cell proliferation signal transductions for cancer therapy. Src kinase domain inhibitors were designed, synthesized and evaluated as anticancer agents, while the patents appli Read More

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a protective fence between the central nervous system and the systemic circulation, and is essential for maintaining the normal homeostasis of the central nervous system. BBB breakdown is instigated in many neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Recent literature has advanced the knowledge on the physiology and pathophysiology of BBB Read More

New-generation antidepressants are a heterogeneous class of drugs used in the treatment of depression and related disorders. This review deals with the first new-generation antidepressant class to enter the pharmaceutical market, i.e., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are still the most prescribed and widely used ones. Their common characteristics are the comparable clinical efficacy, good tolerability a Read More

Radiation exposure leads to an increased risk for cancer and, possibly, additional ill-defined non-cancer risk, including atherosclerotic, cardiovascular, cerebro-vascular and neurodegenerative effects. Studies of brain irradiation in animals and humans provide evidence of apoptosis, neuro-inflammation, loss of oligo-dendrocytes precursors and myelin sheaths, and irreversible damage to the neural stem compartment Read More

Despite advances in cancer treatment, a large number of patients eventually develop metastatic disease that is generally incurable. Systemic chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for these patients. Several chemotherapeutic combinations have proven effective in the management of cancer. Paradoxically, although the purpose of polychemotherapy is to improve the prognosis and prolong the survival Read More

Angiogenesis plays a pivotal role in many pathological processes including chronic liver diseases. Various factors, such as renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), insulin resistance (IR), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute reciprocally to promote angiogenesis. Blockade of RAAS by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) or angiotensin II (AngII) receptor blocker (ARB) markedly attenuates liver fibros Read More