Biochimica et biophysica acta
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Pain is a complex biological phenomenon that encompasses intricate neurophysiological, behavioural, psychosocial and affective components. Protracted or chronic pain alerts an individual to a possible pathological abnormality and is the main reason why patients visit a primary care physician. ⋯ This review spotlights a number of promising targets for peripheral pain control including the transient receptor potential (TRP) family of neuronal ion channels, the family of proteinase activated receptors (PARs), cannabinoids, and opioids. A critical appraisal of these targets in preclinical models of disease is given and their suitability as future peripheral analgesics is discussed.
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Feb 2011
ReviewCells of the oligodendroglial lineage, myelination, and remyelination.
Myelin is critical in maintaining electrical impulse conduction in the central nervous system. The oligodendrocyte is the cell type responsible for myelin production within this compartment. The mutual supply of trophic support between oligodendrocytes and the underlying axons may indicate why demyelinated axons undergo degeneration more readily; the latter contributes to the neural decline in multiple sclerosis (MS). ⋯ The limited remyelination observed in more chronic MS lesions may reflect intrinsic properties of neural cells or extrinsic deterrents. Therapeutic strategies currently under development include transplantation of exogenous OPCs and promotion of remyelination by endogenous OPCs. All currently approved MS therapies are aimed at dampening the immune response and are not directly targeting neural processes.
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Dec 2010
ReviewEndogenous ouabain in renal Na(+) handling and related diseases.
The Na(+) pump and its Endogenous modulator Ouabain (EO) can be considered as an ancestral enzymatic system, conserved among species ranging from Drosophila to humans, related to Na handling. In this review, we examine how EO is linked with vascular function in hypertension and if it impacts the pathogenesis of heart and renal failure. Moreover, the molecular mechanism of endogenous ouabain-linked hypertension involves the sodium pump/sodium-calcium exchanger duet. ⋯ Experimental data suggest that the Na/K-ATPase α(2)-catalytic subunit causes EO-induced vasoconstriction. Finally, maneuvers that promote Na depletion, as diuretic therapy or reduced Na intake, raise the EO levels. Taken together, these findings suggest a key role for EO in body Na homeostasis.
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Neuropathic pain refers to pain that originates from pathology of the nervous system. Diabetes, infection (herpes zoster), nerve compression, nerve trauma, and autoimmune diseases are examples of diseases that may cause neuropathic pain. Unfortunately no satisfactory treatment is yet available for this type of pain. ⋯ In recent years, most of the neuropathic pain models initially developed in the rat have been translated to mice in order to exploit the resource represented by genetically modified mice. Obviously the most useful animal models of pain would be ones in which the etiology of the pain would be endogenous and not induced by the experimenters: together with the classic models based on peripheral nerve ligation, in the last years other techniques are being developed that mimic more closely clinical pain syndromes, often by attempting to induce the disease associated to neuropathic pain. Although several variables must be taken into account when using animal models for mimicking clinical neuropathic pain, the huge number of models that are now reproducible and well characterized should help to reach important goals in the comprehension of mechanisms and to discover novel therapeutic target for this disease.
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Aurora kinase family of serine/threonine kinases are important regulators of mitosis that are frequently over expressed in human cancers and have been implicated in oncogenic transformation including development of chromosomal instability in cancer cells. In humans, among the three members of the kinase family, Aurora-A, -B and -C, only Aurora-A and -B are expressed at detectable levels in all somatic cells undergoing mitotic cell division and have been characterized in greater detail for their involvement in cellular pathways relevant to the development of cancer associated phenotypes. Aurora-A and -B are being investigated as potential targets for anticancer therapy. ⋯ Preclinical studies and early phase I and II clinical trials of multiple Aurora kinase inhibitors as targeted anticancer drugs have provided encouraging results. This article discusses functional involvement of Aurora kinase-A and -B in the regulation of cancer relevant cellular phenotypes together with findings on some of the better characterized Aurora kinase inhibitors in modulating the functional interactions of Aurora kinases. Future possibilities about developing next generation Aurora kinase inhibitors and their clinical utility as anticancer therapeutic drugs are also discussed.