Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 13, Issue 7, 2007

A common molecular abnormality in human cancer is the presence of multiple autocrine loops, with one of the most prominent involving co-expression of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and its receptor. Epidemiological studies have shown that increased serum levels of IGF-I and decreased levels of its predominant binding protein, IGFBP-3, correlate with an increased risk for several types of cancers. IGF-I has also Read More

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I is implicated in the regulation of protein turnover and exerts potent mitogenic and differentiating effects on most cell types. IGF-I biological actions are mediated by the IGF-I receptor, comprised of two extra-cellular α-subunits, containing hormone binding sites, and two membrane-spanning β-subunits, encoding an intracellular tyrosine kinase. Hormone binding activates the receptor kinase, Read More

This review will focus on the emerging role of the insulin receptor (IR) in cancer. Several epidemiological studies have shown that insulin resistance states, characterized by hyperinsulinemia, are associated with an increased risk for a number of malignancies, including carcinomas of the breast, prostate, colon and kidney. Recent data have elucidated some molecular mechanisms by which IR is involved in cancer. First, IR is overe Read More

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is widely expressed during development, and is actively involved in the regulation of cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. Underlying these activities is the capacity of IGF-I to promote survival in a variety of cell types, including those of the nervous system. However, in adult tissues deregulation of the IGF system can cause undesired cell survival and therefore excessive cell prolifera Read More

Breast cancer development and progression is regulated by crosstalk between steroid hormones (SHs) (e.g., estrogens, progestins and androgens) and growth factors such as insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), insulin, epidermal growth factors (EGFs), transforming growth factors, and vascular endothelial growth factor. The biological effects of SHs are mediated by the nuclear receptors acting as transcriptional activators. Steroi Read More

Prostate cancer, the most frequent non-cutaneous malignancy in men from industrialized countries, is a growing medical problem, representing the second leading cause of male cancer deaths. In the last decade, converging evidence from epidemiological and biological studies suggests that the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) axis is involved in the tumorigenesis and neoplastic growth of prostate cancer. Epidemiological obser Read More

Insulin like-growth factor I (IGF-I) has been involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of human neoplasia due to the mitogenic and anti-apoptotic properties of its cognate receptor. In human thyroid carcinomas, we have previously documented an increased immunoreactivity of both IGF-I and the IGF-I receptor (IGF-I R) associated with up regulation of IGF-I mRNA . Immunoreactivity of IGF-I and cognate receptor positively corr Read More

Reverse Transcriptase (RT) activity is historically associated with the replication of infectious retroviruses. Cellular RT-coding genes have subsequently been identified in eukaryotic genomes. These genes are harbored within retrotransposable elements (retrotransposons and endogenous retroviruses), mobile DNA sequences characterized by the ability to integrate in mammalian genomes through RNA interm Read More

Abundant information is available on the involvement of various cellular and molecular mechanisms in β cell apoptosis. The experimental evidence is controversial and difficult to reconcile, and the mechanisms of evasion of the autoreactive clones from immune surveillance are poorly understood. Multiple apoptotic pathways play a role in destructive insulitis, including perforin/granzyme, Fas/Fas-ligand (FasL), and other Read More

Ever since pure molecular entities have been adapted as drug, varied manifestations other than elimination of infections are frequently been acknowledged as side effects. Contemporary drug research focuses on these issues besides developing new molecules for the restoration of unnatural functional deviations in various tissues and organs. The most promising advancement to achieve this concept of ideal drug is t Read More