Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 15, Issue 12, 2014

Pathogenesis of tuberculosis is marked with infection of macrophages followed by expansion of M. tuberculosis. Every step of this host-pathogen interaction is determined by the battle between the pathogen and host immune factors. It starts with phagocytosis of bacilli by mononuclear cells including alveolar macrophages and Dendritic Cells (DCs), both of which are Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs). Phagocytosed M. tuberculo Read More

Cancer is the manifestation of multiple dysregulated cellular pathways. Treatment protocols engaged in treating these diseases involve mainly the cell cycle regulating genes/proteins, DNA synthesis and repair, protein synthetic machinery, apoptotic and proliferation activity and cytoskeletal framework. Some of the traditional therapeutic strategies have over the years developed resistance making cure difficult to achieve. Thi Read More

Breast cancer is a prominent cause of mortality in women worldwide, with about 2/3rd cases linked to hormone mediated malignancy itself. A hormone receptor positive breast cancer represents cells showing rigorous proliferation upon hormonal exposure. BRCA1 is the predominant marker gene responsible for estrogen regulation. However increased exposure to estrogen is not the sole cause for this abnormality as t Read More

Iron metabolism and homeostasis are imperative for the maintenance of normal physiological activities due to the element’s critical involvement in a wide variety of crucial biological processes like cellular respiration, metabolic pathways, DNA replication, repair, detoxification, neurotransmission and cellular signaling. Being a key contributor of crucial machineries regulating cellular proliferation and survival, it facilitates the proces Read More

Estrogens along with their receptors are required for the normal physiological development of women. However, in altered physiological conditions a high level of estrogens acts either as initiator or progressor of breast cancer. Approximately in 75% of estrogen dependent breast cancer cases estrogen receptors (ERs) are held responsible. Recent studies indicate that estrogens along with iron (Fe) concomitantly involved in the p Read More

Tuberculosis is one of the leading global health issues responsible for a significant mortality. The emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR), extensively drug resistant (XDR) and total drug resistant (TDR) strains have further hampered the disease control. Drug resistance has emerged as imperative concern resulting in genetic selection of drug resistance strains making them unresponsive to most of the drugs. In addition i Read More

The scenario of tuberculosis has gone deadly due to its high prevalence and emergence of widespread drug resistance. It is now high time to develop novel antimycobacterial strategies and to understand novel mechanisms of existing antimycobacterial compounds so that we are equipped with newer tuberculosis controlling molecules in the days to come. Iron has proven to be essential for pathogenesis of tuberculosis and r Read More

In the development of atherosclerosis, naringin has exhibited potential protective effects. However, the specific mechanisms are not clearly understood. The aim of this trial was to determine the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of naringin and uncover the mechanisms in Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) induced Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs). Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) were m Read More