Proprotein Convertases in Gynecological Cancers Andres J.P. Klein-Szanto, Jirong Zhang, Daniel Bassi Gynecological cancers include neoplasias of internal female genital organs, mainly ovarian, endometrial and cervical tumors, and cancers of the external female genital structures. Current scientific evidence indicates that both up- and down-regulatio... Publication Date: 08/01/2012
The Proprotein Convertases Abdel-Majid Khatib Proprotein convertases (PCs) are a family of proteases including PC1, PC2, Furin, PC4, PACE4, PC5, and PC7. These enzymes are involved in the maturation of many precursor proteins involved in the process of tumorigenesis and metastasis. Since their d... Publication Date: 02/01/2013
Non-peptide Inhibitors of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexins (PCSKs) Utpal Chandra De, Priyambada Mishra, Prasenjit Rudra Pal The Ca+2-dependent mammalian Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexins (PCSKs) or Proprotein/ Prohormone Convertases (PCs) are a family of endoproteases that play critical roles not only in normal development and metabolism but also in various physiolo... Publication Date: 09/01/2012
Neuropeptide Receptors Ivone Gomes, Jonathan Wardman, Steve Stockton, Lakshmi A. Devi Neuropeptides mediate their effects by binding and activating receptors that are responsible for converting these extracellular stimuli into intracellular responses. Most neuropeptides interact with G protein-coupled receptors that transduce the sign... Publication Date: 05/01/2013
Neuropeptides and Other Bioactive Peptides Lloyd D. Fricker Neuropeptides and peptide hormones represent the largest class of chemical messengers that transmit information from one cell to another. In this review, several decades of research on peptides in cell-cell signaling are summarized, with a focus on n... Publication Date: 06/01/2012
Bioactive Peptides Produced by Limited Proteolysis Antonio C. M. Camargo, Beatriz L. Fernandes, Lilian Cruz Proteins are considered supremely important for the organization, survival, and functioning of living organisms. They were considered stable and static molecules until the early 1940s, when RudolphSchoenheimer demonstrated that proteins exist in a co... Publication Date: 03/01/2012
Peptide Biosynthesis Akina Hoshino, Iris Lindberg The prohormone convertases (PC) 1/3 and 2 are calcium-activated eukaryotic subtilisins with low pH optima which accomplish the limited proteolysis of peptide hormone precursors within neurons and endocrine cells. In this lecture, we review the bioche... Publication Date: 01/01/2012
Enteric Glia Brian D. Gulbransen, The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a complex neural network embedded in the gut wall that orchestrates the reflex behaviors of the intestine. The ENS is often referred to as the “little brain†in the gut because the ENS is more similar i... Publication Date: 06/01/2014
Introduction to Neuroglia Alexei Verkhratsky, Vladimir Parpura, This book is the introduction to a series of e-books dedicated to the physiology and pathophysiology of neuroglia. The topic of neuroglia is generally overlooked in neuroscience curricula across the world, the main attention being focused on the desc... Publication Date: 02/01/2014
Molecular Pathology of Alzheimer's Disease Rudy Castellani, George Perry Alzheimer's Disease is characterized pathologically by two principal hallmark lesions: the senile plaque and the neurofibrillary tangle. Since the identification of each over 100 years ago, the major protein components have been elucidated. This has ... Publication Date: 10/01/2013
Sex and Gender Differences in Cardiovascular-Renal Diseases and Hypertension Jane Reckelhoff Many of the mechanisms responsible for cardiovascular disease and hypertension are well known, and gender is an independent risk factor in many cohorts. How gender contributes to cardiovascular disease has not been completely elucidated. Even in norm... Publication Date: 11/01/2014
Gastrointestinal Mucosal Defense System Peter R. Kvietys, Ahmed Yaqinuddin, Wael Al Kattan The gastrointestinal mucosal defense system serves to minimize mucosal injury by either ingested or endogenously produced noxious substances. The mucosal defense system is stratified into pre-epithelial (alkaline mucus), epithelial (dynamic epithelia... Publication Date: 10/01/2014
Multiple Sclerosis Alireza Minagar Multiple sclerosis [MS] is one of the most common auto-immune-mediated diseases of the human central nervous system [CNS] which affects young adults and usually causes significant neurological disability. Currently, the causes of MS are still unclear... Publication Date: 09/01/2014
Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis A. Wayne Orr, Arif Yurdagul Jr., Brijesh M. Patel The circulatory system provides the tissues of the body with oxygen and nutrients for survival, allows for the dissemination of inflammatory cells, and clears metabolic waste from building up and damaging tissue. Atherosclerotic disease, the build-up... Publication Date: 06/01/2014
Control of Breathing During Exercise Susan A. Ward The control of breathing during exercise remains the source of considerable debate. Classical schemes of the exercise hyperpnea have incorporated elements of proportional feed-back from chemoreceptor sites (carotid body and brainstem) and feed-forwar... Publication Date: 06/01/2014
Coronary Circulation Johnathan D. Tune The coronary circulation is unique in that it is responsible for maintaining adequate oxygen and substrate delivery to the organ that generates the pressure needed to drive blood throughout the entire circulatory system. In the simplest terms, corona... Publication Date: 06/01/2014
Erectile Dysfunction Rany Shamloul, Anthony J Bella The understanding of the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction (ED) has advanced significantly over the past two decades. In this ebook, we provide an in-depth analysis of the current knowledge of the pathophysiology of ED in order to provide the r... Publication Date: 03/01/2014
Short Bowel Syndrome in Childhood Michael E. Hollwarth Extensive loss of small bowel in all age groups has dramatic consequences on the lifestyle of the patient and the whole family and is accompanied by significant morbidity and mortality. All patients need nutritional and medical support and some of t... Publication Date: 03/01/2014
Dengue Rafael Elias Marques, Rodrigo Guabiraba, Daniel Cisalpino, Mauro M. Teixeira, Danielle G. Souza Dengue is a major public health concern throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease, with a 30-fold increase in global incidence over the past 50 years. Infection with a... Publication Date: 02/01/2014
Necrotizing Enterocolitis Michael Caplan Necrotizing enterocolitis is an acute inflammatory necrosis of bowel that primarily afflicts premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit setting. Although patients who develop this disease have high morbidity and mortality rates, the pathog... Publication Date: 12/01/2013
Linking the World's Information When Sir Tim Berners-Lee first proposed the foundations of the World Wide Web at CERN in 1989, his manager called it “vague, but exciting...