Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 25, Issue 3, 2018

Background: Sulphur is an abundant element in biological systems, which plays an important role in processes essential for life as a constituent of proteins, vitamins and other crucial biomolecules. The major source of sulphur for humans is plants being able to use inorganic sulphur in the purpose of sulphur-containing amino acids synthesis. Sulphur-containing amino acids include methionine, cysteine, homocysteine, and ta Read More

Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus have an increased risk of mortality due to cardiovascular complications. Supplementation with specific sulphur-containing amino acids is rapidly emerging as a possible therapeutic adjuvant for diabetes and associated cardiovascular complications. Observations: It is well-known that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetes-induced cardiovascular disea Read More

Background: Various physiological and pathological stimuli can hypersensitize the sympathetic nervous system resulting in a substantial release of catecholamines (CA) and consequent alterations in excitation-contraction coupling and excitation-transcription coupling. Observations: It has been shown that oxidation products of CA, rather than CA themselves, are responsible for such adaptation to a new equilibrium. While chronic Read More

Background: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury of the heart as a consequence of myocardial infarction or cardiac surgery represents a serious clinical problem. One of the most prominent mechanisms of I/R injury is the development of oxidative stress in the heart. In this regard, I/R has been shown to enhance the production of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species in the heart which lead to the imbalance between the pro-ox Read More

Homocysteine (Hcy) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are important molecules produced during the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids. Hcy metabolism is central to the supply of methyl groups that are essential for biological function. Hcy can be either regenerated to methionine or metabolized to cysteine, a precursor for glutathione synthesis. Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) play a cr Read More

Background: Homocysteine and taurine are non-proteinogenic sulfur-containing amino acids with numerous important physiological roles. Homocysteine and taurine are considered to be neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, the first showing clear hyperexcitability role, while the second is known by its inhibitory and neuroprotective properties. Objective: In this article we addressed the role of homocysteine and its Read More

Background: Cisplatin is one the most frequently used chemotherapeutic drugs for several decades. Although its antineoplastic effect has been reported in treatment of numerous malignances, various adverse effects seem to be the crucial limiting factor for its administration. Objective: Beside the most commonly described nephro- and hepatotoxicity, cisplatin therapy is also accompanied with gastrointestinal, reproducti Read More

Approximately 25-50 million Americans, 30 million Europeans, and 8% of the Australian population have a rare disease. Rare diseases are thus a common problem for clinicians and account for enormous healthcare costs worldwide due to the difficulty of establishing a specific diagnosis. In this article, we review the milestones achieved in our understanding of rare diseases since the emergence of next-generation sequencin Read More