Molecular mechanisms of diseases

The complex of imatinib and other small-molecule ABLl inhibitors as determined by analysis of crystal structures will continue to assist in the development and optimization of inhibitors that are active against mutations conferring resistance in CML (120). The rapidity with which these developments have been occurring is truly astounding and underlies the continued optimism that the treatment of CML and disorders related to it and other disorders where the molecular mechanisms of disease are being unraveled, will become more and more treatable in the future. There is little doubt that combination therapy of CML and related disorders will be a reality in the not-distant future (121). 

Viral gene delivery has become an important therapeutic strategy for the development of novel treatment approaches. A deeper understanding of vector biology and the molecular mechanisms of disease together with remarkable advances in molecular biology and vector technology have considerably advanced the field of human... 

Experimental systems in animals can provide valuable insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease. Despite considerable efforts, there are still no good animal models of COPD. However, the use of chemical and irritant-induced injury models, combined with more mechanistic studies have provided some useful insights into a variety of disease relevant processes and may represent useful alternatives. Airway exposure to agents such as tobacco smoke (32,33), sulfur dioxide (34), cadmium chloride (35), and EPS (36) induce lung injury characterized by increases in neutrophils and macrophages within the central and peripheral airways, a loss of epithelial cilia through the upper airways. 

Glycobiology deals with the nature and role of carbohydrates in biological events [2-4], It is now clear the oligosaccharides may indeed be more than a decorative irrelevance when it comes to molecular mechanisms of disease [5-14], The last decade has witnessed an exponential interest in the associations of oligosaccharides with disease mechanisms, and significant advances have been made in the design of carbohydrate-based therapies and diagnostic techniques. 

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in patients with chronic liver diseases associated with hepatitis B and hepatitis C vims infections with high incidences. Here, an acyclic retinoid has been shown to suppress the posttherapeutic recurrence after interferon-y or glycerrhicin treatment in cirrhotic patients who underwent curative treatment of preceding tumors. The retinoid induced the disappearance of serum lectin-reactive a-fetoprotein (AFP-L3), a tumor marker indicating the presence of unrecognizable tumors in the remnant liver, suggesting a deletion of such minute (pre)malignant clones (clonal deletion). As a molecular mechanism of the clonal deletion, a novel mechanism of... 

In approaching the study of the molecular mechanisms of heredity, this chapter first discusses the structural and functional roles of the genetic material, DNA. This includes an analysis of its replication and susceptibility to mutation. The health-related aspects of the use of recombinant DNA techniques are considered, and examples of then-use in the analysis of several human genetic diseases are used to illustrate the biochemical side of genetics. 

It is hoped that this volume will contribute toward the ultimate elucidation of the molecular mechanism of induction of cancer by PAH. This knowledge will provide a rational basis for the design of approaches for the prevention and cure of this dread disease. 

Wong, P. C., Rothstein, J. D. and Price, D. L. The genetic and molecular mechanisms of motor neuron disease. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 8 791-799,1998. 

M. Pollack, in G. L. Mandell, R. G. Douglas, and J. E. Bennet (Eds.), Principles and Practice of Infection Diseases, Update 8, New Therapeutic Strategies in Gram-Negative Sepsis and Septic Shock Based on Molecular Mechanism of Pathogenesis, p. 1. Churchill Livington, New York, 1990. 

As shown in Fig. 1.1, the integration of pharmacogenomics and systems biology can help elucidate the mechanisms of diseases and drug actions at various levels and connect information between different levels. For example, altered genetic structure may cause malfunctions at the molecular level, which would influence the downstream interactions, pathways, and networks at the cellular level. Such changes may then lead to tissue or organ disorders that are disease phenotypes reflected as... 

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