Current Molecular Medicine - Volume 3, Issue 1, 2003

Many autoimmune diseases have genetic associations with the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II loci. Susceptibility to Type 1 diabetes mellitus (TIDM) is particularly associated with Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) DR3, 4 and associated DQ2, 8 alleles and this is well documented in genetic association studies. These molecules play an important role in presentation of peptide antigens after intracellular processing to Read More

α-synuclein is a recently discovered protein that was first identified as the major non amyloid component of senile plaques, the cerebral lesion likely responsible for Alzheimer's disease. The role of α-synuclein in another brain disease namely Parkinson's disease, has been more deeply documented. It appears that α-synuclein fills up the intracytoplasmic inclusions called Lewy bodies that likely contribute to the etiology o Read More

Proteins in general and secretory proteins in particular undergo posttranslational processes before they reach the structure in which they can fulfill their functional purpose. The protein precursor may undergo a wide variety of proteolytic cleavages, N- and C-terminal trimmings and amino acid derivatizations in cells that express the protein. Occasionally, the same precursor is differently processed in different cell types and, in a Read More

Genes which encode inflammatory cytokines are subject to polymorphisms in their regulatory regions that may effect both the level and ratio of cytokines produced in response to exogenous stimuli. These variant alleles are observed in a large percent of the population and are often associated with increased or decreased susceptibility or severity (modifiers) to infectious, immune or inflammatory diseases. Environme Read More

Now, at the beginning of a new century, 80 years after Warburg's Nobel prize winning discoveries, we are beginning to make sense of the underlying causes of the well known metabolic phenotype of tumor cells. Building on decades of research to understand the interrelationships between respiration and glycolysis in cancer, the tumor metabolic phenotype can now begin to be understood in a genomic context. Wit Read More

The goal of oncolytic therapy is to exploit the innate ability of viruses to infect tumor cells, replicate in tumor cells, and produce selective oncolysis while sparing normal cells. Although the concept that viruses can be oncolytic is not new, it is only in the last three decades that efforts have been directed at genetically mutating viruses to specifically target characteristics of cancer cells. Several viruses have the potential to infect, Read More

The astrocytomas represent the most common primary tumors of the brain. Despite efforts to improve the treatment of astrocytomas, these tumors and in particular the high-grade astrocytoma termed glioblastoma multiforme still carry a poor prognosis. In recent years, there has been an intensive effort to gain an understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to the pathogenesis of astrocyto Read More

Mast cells function as the initiator of the allergic reaction and play a role in the innate immune system. Aggregation of the high affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) on mast cells triggers degranulation with the release of chemical mediators such as histamine, production of cytokines and leukotrienes. FcεRI signals by activating proximal non-receptor type of protein-tyrosine kinases, Lyn, Syk, Btk and Fyn. Activated tyrosine kinases then Read More