Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 16, Issue 38, 2010

Since its discovery, inflammation has been considered a byproduct of pathological situations and of immunological responses. However, mounting experimental evidences suggest that inflammation can be a cause of certain pathologies, and in this respect it should be regarded as a target of immunophysiological studies. Moreover, inflammation-like processes are common to all multicellular organisms investigated, thus dating Read More

Inflammation represents the rapid and efficient elimination of damaged tissue and microbes and eventually the restoration of tissue functionality. Inflammatory response is one of the vital reactions to body injury, acting alongside the restoration of homeostasis, wound repair and immune response. In mammals, wound healing is a process that seeks to restore tissue integrity and function, and is characterized by a series of Read More

The inflammatory process in arthropods includes primarily the recruitment of circulating hemocytes to wounds or sites of microbial infections. Melanization, capsule formation and clotting reactions will finally result in the sealing of wounds. In this review we will focus on recent research about hemolymph clotting and melanization reactions, and the recruitment of hemocytes to wounds and infections. We further describe Read More

Viral infections in fish are common in both natural and cultured fish populations and the spread of infectious disease is a serious threat to both natural ecosystems and commercial exploitations. A significant body of studies have addressed the host response to viral infection including the efficacy of DNA vaccines however we still have a fragmented vision of both pathologies associated with viral infection and the immune r Read More

Vertebrates are armed with an array of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to sense viral pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Upon activation, the PRRs trigger an interferon response which is central to host antiviral defence. Recent studies have demonstrated that the PRR surveillance system is well conserved in vertebrates during evolution. In fact, most classical PRRs characterised in mammals, such as Tol Read More

The inflammatory response should be considered a protective immune reaction of the host aimed at the removal of pathogens, sometimes irrespective of negative side-effects. In this review we discuss the differential contribution of macrophages and neutrophilic granulocytes to nitrosative stress in vivo and discuss how the timing and concentration of nitric oxide (NO.) are important factors determining the degre Read More

The inflammatory response is the reaction of all Metazoan organisms to pathogen invasion that initiates when pathogenderived molecules are recognized by specific pattern recognition receptors expressed mainly on cells of the innate immune system. The successive expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines limits pathogen spread, and attracts and activates immune cells to help in the elimination of th Read More

A large body of evidence on brain development and ageing has revealed that inflammatory processes profoundly affect brain functions during life span of mammalians, including humans. Activation of innate immune mechanisms leading to pro-inflammatory cytokine up-regulation is involved in devastating and disabling human brain illnesses, as Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes dem Read More

Helicobacter pylori is a spiral-shaped, flagellated, microaerophilic Gram-negative bacillus which colonizes the gastric mucosa of more than 50% of human population. The chronic infection generates a state of inflammation, which however is asymptomatic in the majority of the subjects. Nevertheless, in a subset of the H. pylori-infected population, the gastric inflammation may evolve toward chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, Read More

The A1 adenosine receptors (A1AR), belonging to the rhodopsin-like superfamily of the G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), may regulate many various cellular processes in cardiovascular, renal, and central nervous systems. In addition, since the A1AR possesses antilipolytic properties, numerous A1AR agonists and antagonists have been developed, but only some of them with the most promising selective properties in v Read More

Recent advances in research on depression have confirmed that it is common, recurrent and disabling mental disorder. Current medication for the treatment of depression have limited efficacy and delayed onset of therapeutic action. In view of the limitation of the current antidepressant pharmaceuticals, tremendous research efforts are ongoing to search for a pharmacological treatment which may improve antidepressi Read More