Browsing by Subject "Therapeutic potential"

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    The effects of cigarette smoking and nicotine on the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2022) Harrell, Carl Randall; Djonov, Valentin; Volarevic, Vladislav
    Due to their immunoregulatory properties and capacity for multi-lineage differentiation, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used as new therapeutic agents in regenerative medicine. Numerous lifestyle habits and behavioral risk factors may modulate metabolic and cell growth signaling pathways in MSCs, affecting their phenotype and function. Accordingly, identification of these factors and minimization of their influence on viability and function of transplanted MSCs may greatly contribute to their better therapeutic efficacy. A large number of experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects of cigarette smoke and nicotine on proliferation, homing, chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. Cigarette smoke down-regulates expression of chemokine receptors and modulates activity of antioxidative enzymes in MSCs, while nicotine impairs synthesis of transcriptional factors that regulate the cell cycle, metabolism, migration, chondrogenesis and osteogenesis. In this review article, we summarize current knowledge about molecular mechanisms that are responsible for cigarette smoke and nicotine-dependent modulation of MSCs' therapeutic potential.
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    Therapeutic potential of pteridine derivatives: a comprehensive review
    (Wiley, 2018-10-19) Martínez-Esparza, M.; Carmona‐Martínez, Violeta; Ruiz-Alcaraz, Antonio J.; Vera, María; Guirado, Antonio; García-Peñarrubia, Pilar; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
    Pteridines are aromatic compounds formed by fused pyrazine and pyrimidine rings. Many living organisms synthesize pteridines, where they act as pigments, enzymatic cofactors, or immune system activation molecules. This variety of biological functions has motivated the synthesis of a huge number of pteridine derivatives with the aim of studying their therapeutic potential. This review gathers the state‐of‐the‐art of pteridine derivatives, describing their biological activities and molecular targets. The antitumor activity of pteridine‐based compounds is one of the most studied and advanced therapeutic potentials, for which several molecular targets have been identified. Nevertheless, pteridines are also considered as very promising therapeutics for the treatment of chronic inflammation‐related diseases. On the other hand, many pteridine derivatives have been tested for antimicrobial activities but, although some of them resulted to be active in preliminary assays, a deeper research is needed in this area. Moreover, pteridines may be of use in the treatment of many other diseases, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, ischemia, or neurodegeneration, among others. Thus, the diversity of the biological activities shown by these compounds highlights the promising therapeutic use of pteridine derivatives. Indeed, methotrexate, pralatrexate, and triamterene are Food and Drug Administration approved pteridines, while many others are currently under study in clinical trials.