Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 22, Issue 10, 2015

Ion transporters are important in regulation of ionic homeostasis, cell volume, and cellular signal transduction under physiological conditions. They have recently emerged as important players in cancer progression. In this review, we discussed two important ion transporter proteins, sodiumpotassium- chloride cotransporter isoform 1 (NKCC-1) and sodium-hydrogen exchanger isoform 1 (NHE-1) in Glioblastoma multif Read More

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a progressive tauopathy characterized by supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, pseudobulbar palsy, dysarthria, axial rigidity, frontal lobe dysfunction, and dementia. The typical pathology includes neuronal loss, gliosis and microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT)-positive inclusions in neurons and glial cells, primarily in basal ganglia, brainstem and cerebellum. The pathogenesis of PSP is not Read More

Currently, stroke researchers are racing to develop neuroprotective strategies that shield the brain from ischemia-induced injury. To date, neuroprotective agents that have shown promise in animal studies have failed in clinical trials. Since the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke exploits numerous pathways leading to cellular injury, a combination of neuroprotective agents may offer substantially better results than a singl Read More

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO), over the past decade, was hailed as an auspicious therapeutic strategy for various types of brain injuries. The promising results from experiments conducted in animal models of stroke led to a hurried clinical trial that was swiftly aborted in Phase II. The multiple neuroprotective modalities of rhEPO failed to translate smoothly to human adult ischemic brain injury and provided limit Read More

Neonatal brain hemorrhage (NBH) of prematurity is an unfortunate consequence of preterm birth. Complications result in shunt dependence and long-term structural changes such as posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus, periventricular leukomalacia, gliosis, and neurological dysfunction. Several animal models are available to study this condition, and many basic mechanisms, etiological factors, and outcome consequences, are b Read More

NAD+ and NADH play crucial roles in a variety of biological processes including energy metabolism, mitochondrial functions, and gene expression. Multiple studies have indicated that NAD+ administration can profoundly decrease oxidative cell death as well as ischemic and traumatic brain injury, suggesting NAD+ metabolism as a promising therapeutic target for cerebral ischemia and head injury. Cumulating evidence has s Read More

Zinc (Zn2+) is one of the most important trace metals in the body. It is necessary for the normal function of a large number of protein s including enzymes and transcription factors. While extracellular fluid may contain up to micromolar Zn2+, intracellular Zn2+ concentration is generally maintained at a subnanomolar level; this steep gradient across the cell membrane is primarily attributable to Zn2+ extrusion by Zn2+ tr Read More

Brain infarction causes tissue death by ischemia due to occlusion of the cerebral vessels and recent work has shown that post stroke inflammation contributes significantly to the development of ischemic pathology. Because secondary damage by brain inflammation may have a longer therapeutic time window compared to the rescue of primary damage following arterial occlusion, controlling inflammation would be an Read More

Neurodegenerative disorders, e.g., Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are characterized by the progressive loss of neurons and subsequent cognitive decline. They are mainly found in older populations. Due to increasing life expectancies, the toll inflicted upon society by these disorders continues to become heavier and more prominent. Despite extensive research, however, the exact etiology of these disorders Read More

Hypoxia and ischemia play a major role in the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke. However, the protective strategies against hypoxic and ischemic insults are very limited in clinical settings. This has reinforced the need to improve our understanding of the hypoxic and ischemic cascades and explore novel solutions of hypoxic/ ischemic injury. Recent research has identified the crucial role of microRNAs i Read More

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) has a multimodal neuroprotective profile and the cumulative preclinical data from numerous translational studies statistically confirmed the efficacy of G-CSF as a treatment option in ischemic stroke. G-CSF activates anti-apoptotic, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory signaling pathways and stimulates angiogenesis and neurogenesis. In this review, we summarize th Read More