Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 14, Issue 22, 2008

Cell adhesion molecules are critical components of communication among cells. They mediate the contact between cells as well as between cells and the extracellular matrix, thus maintaining the integrity of the tissues. A majority of adhesion molecules can be grouped into integrins, cadherins, selectins, and immunoglobulin superfamilies. Adhesion molecules participate in many stages of immune response; they regul Read More

Leukocyte-function associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) is an αLβ2 chain integrin expressed on the surface of endothelial cells that modulates the behavior of leukocytes by mediating their adhesion to other cells through its interaction to cell-surface ligands. The most important ligand of LFA-1 is ICAM-1 which is expressed on the surface of endothelial cells. The interaction between LFA-1 and ICAM-1 is involved in inflammatory responses Read More

Integrins have been reported to mediate cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, and migration programs. For this reason, the past few years have seen an increased interest in the implications of integrin receptors in atherosclerosis. This review considers the potential role of integrins in atherosclerosis and also addresses why integrins present attractive targets for drug design. It discusses the properties of the integrin-ba Read More

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of host-specific DNA viruses, with more than 120 different types identified to date. HPVs are classified as high- or low-risk (HR or LR) depending on their potential to induce cancer. Persistent infections with HR types of HPVs present a major risk factor for the development of a variety of human cancers including cervical, colorectal, head and neck as well as breast cancers. On the other Read More

Growth and metastasis of lung cancer requires a sequence of events, which alter the ability of neoplastic cells to adhere to themselves, to normal surrounding cells, or to the extracellular matrix. Interactions between cells are primarily mediated by four types of structures in the plasma membrane: gap junctions, tight junctions, desmosomes, and adherence junctions. We have reviewed the existing data on the implication Read More

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology seeking to exploit distinct technological advances controlling the structure of materials at a reduced dimensional scale approaching individual molecules and their aggregates or supramolecular structures. The manipulation and utilization of materials at nanoscale are expected to be critical drivers of economic growth and development in this century. In recent years, nanosca Read More

Titanium, as an implant material, is regarded to be durable and biocompatible, which allows functional replacement of missing teeth. Successful dental implantation depends on an osseointegration phenomenon, a direct structural and functional binding reaction between bone and implant. It is well known that physicochemical characteristics of the dental implant surface, such as roughness, topography, chemistry, and electric Read More

Intracellular delivery of a functional gene or a gene-silencing DNA or RNA sequence is expected to be a powerful tool for treating critical human diseases very precisely and effectively. One of the major hurdles to the successful delivery of a nucleic acid with nanoparticles is the transport across the plasma membrane. The existence of various and numerous cell surface receptors with potential capability of being internaliz Read More

For the past 20 years cytokines have been the mainstay of treatment for advanced renal cell cancer (RCC), despite low response rates achieved and the high toxicity profile observed. The recent advances in molecular biology and the greater understanding of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-hypoxia-induced gene pathway have paved the way for a plethora of novel agents that selectively inhibit k Read More