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Journal of Clinical Investigations |
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Written by bioXplorer
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Oct 07, 2007 at 12:51 PM |
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In This Issue
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Bothered and bewildered, but not bewitched
Unfortunately, we seem to run article amendments (corrections, errata, retractions, addenda) in every issue these days. In the current issue, we have a correction and a retraction — both coming after intensive investigations and peculiar situations we hadn’t encountered before.
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A tribute to George E. Palade
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Taking on new challenges: just fun for Paul Rothman
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Fat
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Selling teaching hospitals and practice plans
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Macrophage diversity in renal injury and repair
Monocyte-derived macrophages can determine the outcome of the immune response and whether this response contributes to tissue repair or mediates tissue destruction. In addition to their important role in immune-mediated renal disease and host defense, macrophages play a fundamental role in tissue remodeling during embryonic development, acquired kidney disease, and renal allograft responses. This review summarizes macrophage phenotype and function in the orchestration of kidney repair and replacement of specialized renal cells following injury. Recent advances in our understanding of macrophage heterogeneity in response to their microenvironment raise new and exciting therapeutic possibilities to attenuate or conceivably reverse progressive renal disease in the context of fibrosis. Furthermore, parallels with pathological processes in many other organs also exist.
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Many cytokines are very useful therapeutic targets in disease
Cytokines are a large family of more than 100 small proteins that function as short-range mediators involved in essentially all biological processes. They have been found to be important rate-limiting signals, and it is now known that blocking some cytokines, e.g., TNF-α, and cytokine receptors, such as human EGFR 1 (HER1) or HER2, yields effective therapeutics that address unmet needs. This Review Series surveys three chronic inflammatory disease areas and two forms of cancer and discusses the important role of cytokines and their receptors in these disease processes. Their role as potential therapeutic targets is also highlighted.
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Evidence that cytokines play a role in rheumatoid arthritis
A large number of cytokines are active in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is now clear that these cytokines play a fundamental role in the processes that cause inflammation, articular destruction, and the comorbidities associated with RA. Following the success of TNF-α blockade as a treatment for RA, other cytokines now offer alternative targets for therapeutic intervention or might be useful as predictive biomarkers of disease. In this Review, we discuss the biologic contribution and therapeutic potential of the major cytokine families to RA pathology, focusing on molecules contained within the TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, IL-23, and IL-2 families.
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The cytokine network in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are very common inflammatory diseases of the airways. They both cause airway narrowing and are increasing in incidence throughout the world, imposing enormous burdens on health care. Cytokines play a key role in orchestrating the chronic inflammation and structural changes of the respiratory tract in both asthma and COPD and have become important targets for the development of new therapeutic strategies in these diseases.
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Last Updated ( Jul 23, 2008 at 04:55 PM )
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