Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 8, Issue 14, 2002

Utilization of fat as a long-term energy storage vehicle is crucial for the maintenance of cellular metabolism and is under intricate and many times redundant control mechanisms. Aberrations in the control of energy metabolism is apparent in diseases such as diabetes and obesity and is evident early on in patients with impaired glucose tolerance. Insulin resistance has been observed at the level of muscle, liver and adipose tissue Read More

The accumulation of leukocytes in various organs contributes to the pathogenesis of a number of human autoimmune diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, hepatitis C, and multiple sclerosis. The inflammatory processes leading to tissue damage and disease are mediated in part by the α4 integrins, α4β1 and α4β7, expressed on the leukocyte cell surface. These glycoprotein recep Read More

The phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are responsible for the hydrolysis of intracellular cyclic adenosine and guanosine monophosphate (cAMP and cGMP, respectively). They are classified into 11 major families (PDE1-11) and the type 4 phosphodiesterase (PDE4) is a cAMP-specific enzyme localized in airway smooth muscle cells as well as in immune and inflammatory cells. The PDE4 activity is associated with a wide variety of diseases Read More

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine released from T-cells and macrophages, and is a key molecule in inflammation. Although a detailed understanding of the biological functions of MIF has not yet been found, it is known that MIF catalyzes the tautomerization of phenylpyruvate and a nonphysiological molecule, D-dopachrome. A potent tautomerase inhibitor would be expected, Read More