Current Molecular Medicine - Volume 1, Issue 1, 2001

Molecular biological investigations of HIV have made fundamental contributions to our understanding of eukaryotic biology. These studies elucidated new paradigms in transcription, RNA and protein export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, cellular activation, morphology and vesicular trafficking.

Diabetes affects millions of people worldwide, and its chronic complications are a leading cause of death in many industrialized countries. In a minority of patients, diabetes is brought about by the auto-immune destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beeta cells (Type 1 diabetes). In the vast majority of patients, diabetes is brought about by a combination of genetic and environmental factors that affect the organisms abil Read More

Glycogen storage disease type 1 (GSD-1), also known as von Gierke disease, is a group of autosomal recessive metabolic disorders caused by deficiencies in the activity of the glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) system that consists of at least two membrane proteins, glucose-6-phosphate transporter (G6PT) and G6Pase. G6PT translocates glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) from cytoplasm to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulu Read More

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes are ubiquitously present in most organisms from bacteria to man. This gene family is the largest one known as of yet. Still growing, the number of human ABC transporters counts currently 47 members which belong to seven subfamilies. ABC transporters share a similar molecular architecture (1) Full-structured transporters harbor two symmetric halves each consisting of one Read More

The lung represents an attractive target organ for somatic gene therapy strategy in that, (1) it is easily accessible by vectors, (2) most frequent hereditary disorders, cystic fibrosis (CF) and alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (alpha1AT), occur in the lung, and (3) carcinoma of the lung is apparently a most common cause of death in humans. To date, approximately 400 clinical protocols for human gene therapy have been approved, Read More

The left ventricle (LV) plays a central role in the maintenance of health of children and adults due to its role as the major pump of the heart. In cases of LV dysfunction, a significant percentage of affected individuals develop signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure (CHF), leading to the need for therapeutic intervention. Therapy for these patients include anticongestive medications and, in some, placement of devices Read More

Apoptosis is a process of cell suicide whereby individual cells are destroyed while preserving the integrity and architecture of surrounding tissue. This targeted cell destruction is critical both in physiological contexts as well as pathological states. It seems increasingly evident that mitochondria play an important role in the regulation of programmed cell death via release of proapoptotic agents and(slash)or disruption of cellular Read More

Success of a candidate vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) depends on the type, site, strength, longevity and specificity of the immune responses it induces. The specificity of a vaccine is determined by the HIV-derived immunogens it employs in its formulation. Central to the other features is a correct and efficient delivery of the immunogens to the relevant cells of the immune system, which leads to orchestr Read More

Natural T (NT) lymphocytes recognize infected cells or microbial compounds without the classical genetic restriction of polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. This innate recognition pathway results in a broad and rapid antimicrobial response that may be critical for controlling the spread of intracellular pathogens, requiring the elimination of the infecting agent from both extracellular spac Read More

The study of genetic alterations in tumors and their precursor lesions is often hampered by the presence of a heterogeneous background of non-neoplastic elements such as stromal cells, inflammatory cells, and angiogenic elements. Microdissection involves the extraction of specific populations of cells under direct visualization. In this article, we will discuss the currently available techniques of microdissection, and bri Read More