Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 24, Issue 20, 2018

Stroke is the second-leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious long-term disability worldwide, with an increasing global burden due to the growing and aging population. However, strict eligibility criteria for current treatment opportunities make novel therapeutic approaches desirable. Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role during cerebral ischemia, eventually leading to neuronal injury and cell death. The signific Read More

Inflammation and the ways for its regulation: The development of an effective system for the treatment of inflammatory diseases requires comprehensive studies of the cellular signaling molecular networks comprising responses to various stressors, including pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms. Significant attention on fundamental and applied research has recently focused on inducers of hemе oxyge Read More

The process of inflammation is orchestrated by macrophages, according to their state of differentiation: thus, classically activated (M1) macrophages initiate the process by elaborating proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species, whereas the latter phase is controlled by alternatively activated macrophages (M2) to resolve inflammation and promote tissue remodelling with the release of growth factors. In Read More

Chronic use of opiates for control of chronic pain is complicated by the development of tolerance and hyperalgesia, and hence usually entails dose escalation and diminished efficacy. Our evolving understanding of the mechanisms mediating induction of morphine tolerance may enable discovery of adjunct measures which can prevent this tolerance; this essay proposes that certain nutraceuticals may have utility in this r Read More

The primary driving force in preeclampsia (PE) appears to be excessive secretion of fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), a truncated decoy receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placental growth factor (PlGF) that induces systemic endotheliopathy by depriving endothelial cells of the trophic support conferred by VEGF. Factors which boost placental sFlt-1 production in PE include hypoxia – reflecting imprope Read More

Heme oxygenase (HO), the rate-limiting step in the degradation of heme to biliverdin, ferrous ion, and carbon monoxide (CO), is an ancestral protective enzyme conserved across phylogenetic domains. While HO was first described in the late 1960s and progressively characterized in the following decades, there has been a surge of innovation over the past twenty years in efforts to leverage the cytoprotective power of H Read More

Heme oxygenase (HO) family catalyzes the conversion of heme into free iron, carbon monoxide and biliverdin. It possesses two well-characterized isoforms: HO-1 and HO-2. Under brain physiological conditions, the expression of HO-2 is constitutive, abundant and ubiquitous, whereas HO-1 mRNA and protein are restricted to small populations of neurons and neuroglia. HO-1 is an inducible enzyme that has been shown to par Read More

The skin is often introduced as the largest organ of the human body which – being uniquely exposed to external stress – faces several types of challenges, from physical, chemical, biological, and immunological origin. Therefore, the skin is also a site where inflammation, oxidative stress and cellular damage occurs regularly. Heme oxygenase (HO), primarily functioning in the catabolism of heme, is a very important cytoprotec Read More

Background: Heme-oxygenase (HO) catalyzes the main enzymatic step of heme degradation and generates anti-inflammatory end products with protective roles in physiological and pathological situations. The importance of HO in pathological conditions is evidenced by its pharmacological inhibition or genetic blockage in different models of stress such as infection, inflammation and oxidative stress. Under these situations, a Read More

Neurodegenerative disorders have been and remain persistent sources of enormous suffering throughout human history. The tragedy of their impact on human relationships, physical vitality, and fundamental dignity cannot be understated. Parkinson's disease (PD), one of the most common of these terrible illnesses, has a global incidence of approximately two-to-four percent of the human population, along with dev Read More

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD), are the leading cause of human mortality worldwide and the focus of the intensive investigation is to characterize their pathogenesis. This review examines contribution to CVD of heme oxygenases (HOs), heat shock protein enzymes, comprising 3 isoforms: HO-1 (inducible), HO-2 (constitutively expressed) and HO-3 (function presently undefined), which constitute a primary endogenous counter Read More