Featured Pathways
ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder, which is characterized by the selective degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons, the large nerve cells connecting the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to muscles, which control muscle movement. The loss of motor neurons leads to progressive atrophy[..]
The cell membranes do not simply serve as barriers to separate the inside of the cell from the outside or to delineate different intracellular compartments. These membranes also serve as a platform for cell signaling by allowing specific sets of proteins to interact. Phospholipids are major structural constituents of the cell membranes. In the cell membranes of neurons, the two most prevalent[..]
Cellular Lipid homeostasis in mammalian cells is regulated through the end-product feedback regulation of Lipid synthesis by a family of membrane-bound transcription factors designated SREBPs (Sterol Regulatory Element–Binding Proteins) that control the flux of cellular metabolites into the major Lipid pathways. The mammalian cell continuously adjusts its Sterol content by regulating levels of[..]
As research into tumour immunology continues at an incredible pace, a considerable amount of work is aimed at exploring the mechanisms that underlie the immunological recognition and elimination of cancer and the downstream consequences of these processes. The capacity of the immune system for recognition is not limited solely to the classic models of self versus pathogen or self versus[..]
Cell-fate decisions are controlled typically by conserved receptors that interact with co-evolved ligands. Therefore, the lineage-specific differentiation of immature CD4+CD8+ T cells into CD4+ or CD8+ mature T cells is unusual in that it is regulated by clonally expressed, somatically generated T-cell receptors (TCRs) of unpredictable fine specificity. Each mature T cell generally retains[..]
MDSCs (Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells) are recently been recognized as critical mediators of tumor progression in numerous solid tumours through their inhibition of tumor-specific immune responses. These cells are increased in numerous pathologic conditions, including infections, inflammatory diseases, graft-versus-host disease, traumatic stress, and neoplastic diseases. MDSCs inhibit not[..]
Immune cells in the tumour microenvironment not only fail to mount an effective anti-tumour immune response, but also interact intimately with the transformed cells to promote oncogenesis actively. STAT (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription) proteins act as a mediator of cytokine receptor signaling. This protein plays a role in[..]
The immune system has three primary roles in the prevention of tumors. First, the immune system can protect the host from virus-induced tumors by eliminating or suppressing viral infections. Second, the timely elimination of pathogens and prompt resolution of inflammation can prevent the establishment of an inflammatory environment conducive to tumorigenesis. Third, the immune system can[..]
Cancer immunotherapy attempts to exploit the exquisite power and specificity of the immune system for the treatment of malignancy. Although cancer cells are less immunogenic than pathogens, the immune system is clearly capable of recognizing and eliminating tumour cells. However, tumors frequently interfere with the development and function of immune responses. Thus, the challenge for[..]
Tumour cells characteristically provides their own growth signals, and ignore growth-inhibitory signals, avoid cell death, replicate without limits, sustain angiogenesis, and invade tissues through basement membranes and capillary walls. Whereas cancer immunosurveillance predicts that the immune system can recognize precursors of cancer and, in most cases, destroy these precursors before they[..]
