Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 19, Issue 34, 2012

The calcium ion is quite possibly the single most pervasive signaling molecule used by living organisms for the purpose of communicating internal and external states. It differs from other messengers in that it is neither created nor destroyed, but just moved around inside and outside the cell via transporters, pumps and channels to alter its concentration in specific cellular locations. These changes in free [Ca2+] are then dete Read More

The secretion of fluid, electrolytes, and protein by exocrine gland acinar cells is a vectorial process that requires the coordinated regulation of multiple channel and transporter proteins, signaling components, as well as mechanisms involved in vesicular fusion and water transport. Most critical in this is the regulation of cytosolic free [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) in response to neurotransmitter stimulation. Control of [Ca2+]i increase Read More

The control of cytosolic calcium is a major determinant not only of cardiac function, but also of the capability of myocardial tissue to survive damage. Increase of diastolic calcium leads rapidly to cell injury, and may be induced by a wide range of causes. In this review we describe the major points of calcium control in cardiac myocytes, mainly in mammalian ventricle, focusing on mechanisms of intracellular calcium inf Read More

Migration of neurons and neuronal precursors from the site of origin to their final location is a key process in the development of the nervous system and in the correct organization of neuronal structures and circuits. Different modes of migration (mainly radial and tangential) have been described in the last 40 years; for these, as for motility processes involving other cellular types, calcium signaling plays a key role, with i Read More

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have recently been employed in cell-based therapy (CBT) to promote neovascularization and regeneration of ischemic organs, such as heart and limbs. Furthermore, EPCs may be recruited from bone marrow by growing tumors to drive the angiogenic switch through physical engrafting into the lumen of nascent vessels or paracrine release of pro-angiogenic factors. CBT is hampered by Read More

Sixty years after its introduction, 1,5-bis(4-amidinophenoxy)pentane (Pentamidine) is still one of the most used drugs for the treatment of the first stage of Human African trypanosomiasis and other neglected diseases such as malaria and leishmaniasis. These protozoan infections are prevalent in the poorest world areas such as sub-saharian and developing countries, however the increasing immigration from these countries to t Read More

Visceral obesity is characterized by increased risk of cardiovascular disease as well as higher incidence of malignancies, including colorectal cancer (CRC), although the mechanisms linking excess adiposity with cancer are only partly characterized. Visceral obesity is currently acknowledged as a chronic inflammatory disorder and a growing body of evidence demonstrates the interconnections between obesity-related secretion pa Read More

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare but aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Treatment options for advanced ACC are limited. Indeed, radical tumor resection can lead to local or metastatic recurrence, and mitotane (Lysodren®), the only recognized adrenolytic drug, offers modest response rates, notably due to some of its physico-chemical and pharmacological properties (i.e. hydrophobicity, low bioavailabi Read More

Cigarette smoking is one of the major risk factors for COPD and COPD severity. In turn COPD is a major independent risk factor for lung cancer. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies both in lung cancer and COPD highlighted the same variants (SNPs) on chromosome 15q25 marking the gene cluster CHRNA3-CHRNB4-CHRNA5 for these smoking related diseases, showing a stimulating connection between this common ge Read More

Four different classes of HDACs have been identified in humans so far. Classes I, II and IV are zinc-dependent amidohydrolases, while III is a family of phylogenetically conserved NAD-dependent protein deacetylases/ADP-ribosyltransferase with a welldefined role in modifying chromatin conformation and altering the accessibility of the damaged sites of DNA for repair enzymes. Sirtuins are histone deacetylases (HDACs) o Read More

Influenza is an infection of the upper respiratory tract caused by influenza virus. Neuraminidase (NA) plays an essential role in replication and infection of influenza virus. It is considered as a suitable target for antivirus agents development. Several potent NA inhibitors (NAIs) developed by using structure-based rational design have been widely used in clinic for treatment of influenza. However, the emergence of NA inhibitor Read More

Neurodegenerative diseases are accompanied by reduced activity of mitochondrial α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (KGDHC). We present a new cellular model to study molecular mechanisms of this association. By application of the highly specific and efficient inhibitor of KGDHC, succinyl phosphonate (SP), to cultured neurons, we characterized the concentrationand time-dependent consequen Read More

The aggregation behavior of the amyloid peptide Aβ1-28 and the prion peptide PrP185-208 - both responsible for neurodegenerative disorders – was analyzed in the absence and in the presence of poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimers at generation 5 (G5) with a dense shell of maltose and maltotriose units. Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence assay and circular dichroism (CD) experiments indicated that fibril formation is enhanc Read More