The type XIV family of C-type lectin-like domain (CTLD) containing proteins.
Published in Current drug targets
Thrombomodulin links coagulation to inflammation and immunity.
Published in Current drug targets
Thrombomodulin (TM) is a type 1 membrane bound glycoprotein that has a C-type lectin domain at its Nterminus, 6 copies of the epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) motif and serine/threonine rich domain carrying a glycosoaminoglycan external to the membrane. TM binds thrombin changing thrombin's substrate specificity from procoagulant and pro-inflamma...
CD248: reviewing its role in health and disease.
Published in Current drug targets
CD248, also known as endosialin or tumor endothelial marker-1 (TEM-1), is a C-type lectin-like domain (CTLD) containing cell surface glycoprotein that is expressed by stromal cells of proliferating tissues during embryogenesis and postnatally in tumors and inflammatory lesions. Loss-of-function studies in mice support the notion that CD248 promotes...
Applications of biophysical tools to target-based discovery of novel antibacterial leads.
Published in Current drug targets
New antibacterial drugs are urgently needed to combat the growing problem of multidrug resistant bacterial infections. Major advances in bacterial genomics have uncovered many unexploited targets, leading to the possibility of discovering new antibacterials with novel mechanisms that would circumvent resistance. Many of these targets are soluble en...
Physiological and pathological functions of acid-sensing ion channels in the central nervous system.
Published in Current drug targets
Protons are important signals for neuronal function. In the central nervous system (CNS), proton concentrations change locally when synaptic vesicles release their acidic contents into the synaptic cleft, and globally in ischemia, seizures, traumatic brain injury, and other neurological disorders due to lactic acid accumulation. The finding that pr...
Mechanisms of neuronal damage and neuroprotection underlying ischemia/reperfusion injury after physical exercise.
Published in Current drug targets
The effects of exercise pre-conditioning on lessening the impact of ischemia/reperfusion injury provide pivotal information and potential targets for future pharmacological intervention. Exercise induces increased expression of neurotrophic factors, the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, integrins, angiogenic factors, as well as tumor necrosis fa...
Protein degradation pathways after brain ischemia.
Published in Current drug targets
There are two major routes for clearance of aberrant cellular components: (i) the ubiquitin-proteasomal system (UPS); and (ii) the autophagy pathway. The UPS degrades individual abnormal proteins, whereas the autophagy pathway is the chief route for bulk degradation of large abnormal protein aggregates and aberrant organelles. Impairments of the pr...
Targeting nitrosative stress for neurovascular protection: new implications in brain diseases.
Published in Current drug targets
Nitric oxide/peroxynitrite signaling is associated with manifold neurovascular pathogenic cascades that lead to neurodegenerative diseases, including ischemic stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia. Considerable evidence suggests that reactive nitrogen species as mediators of nitrosative stress could damage biomolecules and subsequently...
Current research on opioid receptor function.
Published in Current drug targets
The use of opioid analgesics has a long history in clinical settings, although the comprehensive action of opioid receptors is still less understood. Nonetheless, recent studies have generated fresh insights into opioid receptor-mediated functions and their underlying mechanisms. Three major opioid receptors (μ-opioid receptor, MOR; δ-opioid recept...
From rapid to delayed and remote postconditioning: the evolving concept of ischemic postconditioning in brain ischemia.
Published in Current drug targets
Ischemic postconditioning is a concept originally defined to contrast with that of ischemic preconditioning. While both preconditioning and postconditioning confer a neuroprotective effect on brain ischemia, preconditioning is a sublethal insult performed in advance of brain ischemia, and postconditioning, which conventionally refers to a series of...
