Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 13, Issue 23, 2013

Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerases (PARPs) catalyze a post-transcriptional modification of proteins, consisting in the attachment of mono, oligo or poly ADP-ribose units from NAD+ to specific polar residues of target proteins. The scientific interest in members of this superfamily of enzymes is continuously growing since they have been implicated in a range of diseases including stroke, cardiac ischemia, cancer, inflammation an Read More

Human CD38, an ecto-enzyme and a receptor, performs as an independent negative prognostic marker for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a hematological malignancy characterized by the accumulation of a population of mature B lymphocytes expressing CD5. Patients with a CD38+ CLL clone display a more aggressive form of the disease with earlier treatment requirements and ultimately shorter overa Read More

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) is the most potent Ca2+ mobilizing endogenous compound known to date. Although its Ca2+releasing activity has been demonstrated in many cell types and in response to different extracellular stimuli, several aspects of NAADP signaling are unclear. This overview focuses on the controversial aspects and reviews NAADP´s role as second messenger: endogenous Read More

The post-translational modifications of proteins by mono- and poly-ADP-ribosylation involve the cleavage of βNAD+, with the release of its nicotinamide moiety, accompanied by the transfer of a single (mono) or several (poly) ADP-ribose molecules from βNAD+ to a specific amino-acid residue of various cellular proteins. Thus, both mono- and poly-ADP-ribosylation are NAD+-consuming reactions. ADP-ribosylation reacti Read More