Current Molecular Pharmacology - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2009

Post-surgical adhesion is a medical challenge, especially following abdominal and pelvic surgeries. This refers to the formation of fibrotic scars that form from connective tissue in the gynecological tract or abdominal cavity. Dysfunctional Adipose Tissue (AT) by surgical injuries and hypoxia increases the risk of post-surgical adhesion through different molecular mechanisms. Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs) a Read More

Non-opioid analgesics including both selective and non-selective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors and acetaminophen are the most widely used treatments for pain. Inhibition of COX is thought to be largely responsible for both the therapeutic and adverse effects of this class of drugs. Accumulating evidence over the past two decades has demonstrated effects of non-opioids beyond the inhibition of COX and prostaglan Read More

Somatic cell nuclear transfer or therapeutic cloning has provided great hope for stem cell-based therapies. However, therapeutic cloning has been experiencing both ethical and technical difficulties. Recent breakthrough studies using a combination of four factors to reprogram human somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells without using embryos or eggs have led to an important revolution in stem cell research. Comparative a Read More

Lessons from viral hijacks of cells and cancer biology suggest that the activation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) often results in the modulation of various transcription factors and cofactors. Since drugs acting on GPCRs represent a significant portion of therapeutic agents currently in use, it is important to understand the actions of GPCRs on gene expression. GPCRs and their associated heterotrimeric G pro Read More

Historically, vaccine strategies have proven to be most effective at eradicating the targeted virus infections. With the advent of new or re-emerging altered viruses, some of which jump species to infect humans, the threat of viral pandemics exists. The protracted time to develop a vaccine during a pandemic necessitates using antiviral drugs in the intervening months prior to vaccine availability. Antiviral drugs that are pathogen sp Read More

HIV establishes a chronic infection that is marked by the progressive depletion of CD4+ T-cells, yet the mechanisms by which this depletion arises are a matter of controversy. Evidence is accumulating that T CD4+ depletion is not effected solely by virus-mediated killing and that mechanisms involving T-cell dynamics play a major role in the pathogenesis of HIV infection. Hence antiretroviral therapy, by controlling viral replicati Read More

Metabolic syndrome is defined as the clustering of multiple metabolic abnormalities, including abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia (high serum triglycerides and low serum HDL-cholesterol levels), glucose intolerance and hypertension. The pathophysiology underlying metabolic syndrome involves a complex interaction of crucial factors, but two of these, insulin resistance and obesity (especially visceral obesity), play a majo Read More

Erythropoietin (EPO), a glycoprotein essential for red blood cell production acts on several non-erythropoietic tissues. The EPO receptor (EPOR) is expressed in a variety of cell types including neurons, endothelial cells, and cardiomyocytes. Recently, a number of reports have indicated that EPO preserves heart function in models of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. A diverse range of cellular/physiological processes is mod Read More

The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) was originally identified as a low-affinity receptor for neurotrophins. Recent studies have revealed that p75NTR can promote cell death or survival and modulate neurite outgrowth depending on the operative ligands and co-receptors. Up-regulation and ligand activation of p75NTR have been shown to be involved in neuronal cell death in cultured cells and animal models of neurodeg Read More

Behavioural symptoms are a significant problem in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Symptoms including agitation/aggression and psychosis reduce patient quality of life, significantly increase caregiver burden, and often trigger nursing home placement. Underlying changes in the serotonergic, noradrenergic and cholinergic systems have been linked to some behavioural problems, however, the use of antipsychotics in this popul Read More

L-glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter at fast synapses in the mammalian central nervous system, and signals though a number of ionotropic and metabotropic receptors. Among the latter are the group I metabotropic glutamate (mGlu1 and mGlu5) receptors that upon activation elevate intracellular calcium levels through activation of the phospholipase C pathway. The role of glutamatergic transmission Read More

Valproic acid (VPA, 2-propylpentanoic acid) has been widely used as an antiepileptic drug and for the therapy of bipolar disorders for several years. Its mechanism of action was initially found to be primarily related to neurotransmission and modulation of intracellular pathways. More recently, it emerged as an anti-neoplastic agent as well, by acting on cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Here, it mainly exerts its effect by r Read More

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) arises from protein-truncating mutations in the large dystrophin gene that preclude synthesis of a functional protein that primarily stabilizes muscle fibre membranes. The absence of dystrophin leads to this most common and serious form of childhood muscle-wasting. Since the identification of the dystrophin gene in 1987, cell and gene repair or replacement therapies have been evalua Read More

The acute radiation syndrome (ARS) is defined as the signs and symptoms that occur within several months after exposure to ionizing radiation (IR). This syndrome develops after total- or partial-body irradiation at a relatively high dose (above about 1 Gy in humans) and dose rate. Normal tissue injuries induced by IR differ depending on the target organ and cell type. Organs and cells with high sensitivity to radiation include the sk Read More

The therapeutic potential of cannabinoids has been studied and investigated through centuries, although many interesting discoveries have emerged from this field in the past decades. Indeed, peripheral analgesic effects of cannabinoids are a new avenue of treatment since they are avoiding the deleterious central side effects of systemic administration. Recently, it has been demonstrated that cannabinoid receptors ( Read More