Featured Pathways
Asthma is a complex, chronic inflammatory lung disease which is characterized by persistent airway inflammation and airway wall remodeling, that includes the structural changes in the airway wall, epithelial cell shedding, hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the ASM (airway smooth muscle) bundles, basement membrane thickening and increased vascular density. Airway wall remodeling starts early in[..]
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global health problem that is becoming preva¬lent, particularly in developing countries [Ref.1]. It is one of the most common diseases in the world, with a lifetime risk estimated to be as high as 25%, and now equally affects both men and women [Ref.2]. COPD is greatly under¬ diagnosed and often diagnosed late in its course, so[..]
Cancer cell genotypes are a manifestation of six essential alterations in cell physiology that collectively dictate malignant growth; self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to growth-inhibitory (anti-growth) signals, evasion of programmed cell death (apoptosis), limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis and tissue invasion and metastasis. Environmental and endogenous[..]
The MAPK (Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase) pathway is one of the primordial signaling systems that nature has used in several permutations to accomplish an amazing variety of tasks. It exists in all eukaryotes, and controls such fundamental cellular processes as Proliferation, Differentiation, Survival and Apoptosis. Mammalian MAPK can be divided into four groups based on their structure and[..]
Malaria is the world's largest parasitic disease, killing more people than any other communicable disease except Tuberculosis. Malaria is a major public health problem in more than 100 countries, inhabited by a total of some 2.4 billion people, or close to half of the world's population. Each year, 300–500 million people contract malaria and about 3 million die, most of which are[..]
Prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans and animals. Human TSEs are often categorized with other protein misfolding neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, fronto-temporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The[..]
Human eosinophils are crucial effector cells implicated in a number of chronic inflammatory reactions, associated with bronchial asthma, allergic-inflammatory diseases, and parasitic infections.The chemotactic response of eosinophils is mostly mediated by CCR3 (CC Chemokine Receptor-3), a member of the G protein-coupled, seven-transmembrane receptor family, linked to heterotrimeric G-Proteins.[..]
PI3Ks (Phosphoinositide-3 Kinases) are heterodimeric lipid kinases that are composed of a regulatory and catalytic subunit that are encoded by different genes. The phosphorylated lipid phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns3P) is an important signaling molecule and has been found to localize to endosomes, multivesicular bodies, phagosomes, midbodies, peroxisomes and omegasomes. The generated[..]
cAMP (Cyclic Adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate) is the first identified second messenger, which has a fundamental role in the cellular response to many extracellular stimuli. The cAMP signaling pathway controls a diverse range of cellular processes. Indeed, not only did cAMP provide the paradigm for the second messenger concept, but also provided the paradigm for signaling[..]
Bacterial meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, in particular the arachnoid and the pia mater, associated with the invasion of bacteria into the subarachnoid space.The pathogens take advantage of the specific features of the immune system in the CNS, replicate and induce inflammation. A hallmark of bacterial meningitis is the recruitment of highly activated leukocytes into the CSF.The[..]
