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Various Human Diseases (various + human_diseases)
Selected AbstractsSelenium- and Tellurium-Containing Multifunctional Redox Agents as Biochemical Redox Modulators with Selective CytotoxicityCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 36 2010Dr. Vincent Jamier Abstract Various human diseases, including different types of cancer, are associated with a disturbed intracellular redox balance and oxidative stress (OS). The past decade has witnessed the emergence of redox-modulating compounds able to utilize such pre-existing disturbances in the redox state of sick cells for therapeutic advantage. Selenium- and tellurium-based agents turn the oxidizing redox environment present in certain cancer cells into a lethal cocktail of reactive species that push these cells over a critical redox threshold and ultimately kill them through apoptosis. This kind of toxicity is highly selective: normal, healthy cells remain largely unaffected, since changes to their naturally low levels of oxidizing species produce little effect. To further improve selectivity, multifunctional sensor/effector agents are now required that recognize the biochemical signature of OS in target cells. The synthesis of such compounds provides interesting challenges for chemistry in the future. [source] Organic Chemistry of Vitamin D Analogues (Deltanoids)EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 24 2003Gary H. Posner An increasing number of synthetic vitamin D analogues (deltanoids) are now being used as sensitive molecular biology probes and also as new drug candidates and new drugs for treatment of various human diseases. The design and stereocontrolled synthesis of such new deltanoids are guided by considering catabolism inhibition and by using large steroidal chirons and small steroid-derived chirons. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003) [source] Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Regulation of Gene ExpressionNUTRITION REVIEWS, Issue 9 2004Harini Sampath B.Sc. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), specifically the n-3 series, have been implicated in the prevention of various human diseases, including obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, and inflammatory and neurologic diseases. PUFAs function mainly by altering membrane lipid composition, cellular metabolism, signal transduction, and regulation of gene expression. PUFAs regulate the expression of genes in various tissues, including the liver, heart, adipose tissue, and brain. The role of transcription factors such as SREBP1c and nuclear receptors such as PPAR-,, HNF-4,, and LXR, in mediating the nuclear effects of PUFAs are addressed. [source] A new endogenous retroviral sequence is expressed in skin of patients with psoriasisBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2005J-P. Molès Summary Background, The origin of psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease involving keratinocyte proliferation, immune disturbances and complex inheritance, remains unknown. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are part of the normal human genome and their participation in the pathogenesis of various human diseases with complex genetic traits has been proposed. A possible role of HERVs in the induction of psoriasis was suggested many years ago. However, to date no study has searched for HERV expression in psoriasis. Objectives, To determine firstly, which HERV families are expressed in the psoriatic lesion and secondly, whether specific variants can be detected. Methods, HERV expression was analysed at the mRNA level after degenerated reverse transcription,polymerase chain reaction (RT,PCR) of retroviral pol sequences followed by sequencing. Screening for a specific variant was performed by RT,PCR on lesional and nonlesional psoriatic skin and compared with normal and atopic dermatitis skin. Results, We report the expression of three HERV families in psoriatic lesions, namely HERV-W, K and E. We then partially characterized a new endogenous retroviral variant, which was related to the ERV-9/HERV-W family. This sequence contains at least two open reading frames that could encode for a gag protein and a retroviral protease. The expression of this sequence was detected in 29 of 43 lesional psoriasis skin samples and rarely in normal (two of 21) or atopic dermatitis (three of 14) skin samples. Conclusions, In psoriatic lesions, HERV sequences of the W, K and E families are expressed and a new variant of the ERV-9/HERV-W family has been characterized. The possible role of HERV-related sequences in the pathogenesis of psoriasis is under investigation. [source] Endosomal sorting complex required for transport proteins in cancer pathogenesis, vesicular transport, and non-endosomal functionsCANCER SCIENCE, Issue 7 2008Nobuyuki Tanaka Endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) proteins form a multicomplex sorting machinery that controls multivesicular body (MVB) formation and the sorting of ubiquitinated membrane proteins to the endosomes. Being sorted to the MVB generally results in the lysosome-dependent degradation of cell-surface receptors, and defects in this machinery induce dysregulated receptor traffic and turnover. Recent lessons from gene targeting and silencing methodologies have implicated the ESCRT in normal development, cell differentiation, and growth, as well as in the budding of certain enveloped viruses. Furthermore, it is becoming apparent that the dysregulation of ESCRT proteins is involved in the development of various human diseases, including many types of cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we summarize the roles of ESCRT proteins in MVB sorting processes and the regulation of tumor cells, and we discuss some of their other functions that are unrelated to vesicular transport. (Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 1293,1303) [source] | |||||||||||||