Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.49 (reverse transcriptase)
31,746 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We compared cytokine and chemokine induction in mice after sciatic nerve crush and chronic constriction injury (CCI) by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In both nerve lesion paradigms, transcripts for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-10, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were significantly increased in degenerating nerve stumps already at day 1, with a greater magnitude and longer duration in CCI. NMDA receptor blockade significantly reduced cytokine expression after CCI on the mRNA and protein level. In dorsal root ganglia, only IL-10 mRNA levels were modified after nerve injury. Our study indicates that the mode of nerve injury influences the extent of cytokine expression, and identifies NMDA-mediated signaling as one mechanism of cytokine induction in peripheral nerves.
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PMID:The extent of cytokine induction in peripheral nerve lesions depends on the mode of injury and NMDA receptor signaling. 1502 67

The chemokine receptors CXCR4 and CCR5 are used as the main co-receptors by the T-cell-tropic (CXCR4-dependent, X4) and macrophage-tropic (CCR5-dependent, R5) HIV-1 strains, respectively, for entering their target cells. The natural ligands for CXCR4, the CXC-chemokine SDF-1 and CCR5, the CC-chemokines RANTES, MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta are described to inhibit viral entry. In this review we focus on chemokine receptor/HIV co-receptor inhibitors. Modified chemokines such as Met-RANTES and AOP-RANTES showed antiviral activity against R5 viruses. Several low-molecular weight CCR5 antagonists have been described (such as TAK-779 and SCH-C) with potent antiviral activity. The latter compound is also orally available and is able to decrease R5 viral load levels in HIV-infected subjects. Several peptidic compounds, such as T22 (an 18-mer), T134 (a 14-mer), ALX40-4C (a 9-mer) and CGP 64222 (also a 9-mer) have anti-HIV activity and have been identified as CXCR4 antagonists. Also, the HIV-1 Tat protein has been described as a "natural" CXCR4 antagonist with anti-HIV-1 activity. The most potent and specific CXCR4 antagonists are the bicyclam derivatives, which also potently inhibit X4 HIV replication. AMD3100 has proved to be a highly specific CXCR4 antagonist, which consistently blocks X4 viral replication in any target cell-type evaluated so far. AMD3100 was selected as the clinical drug candidate, which, after initial phase I (safety) studies, had proceeded to phase II (efficacy) trials. The compound dose-dependently inhibited X4 viruses after 10 days of continuous infusion of the drug. Recently, the orally bioavailable CXCR4 antagonist, AMD070, is presented as a candidate HIV drug. We believe that chemokine receptor antagonists will become important new antiviral drugs to combat AIDS. Both (CXCR4 and CCR5) chemokine receptor inhibitors will be needed in combination to inhibit viral replication and even in combinations of antiviral drugs that also target other aspects of the HIV replication cycle, such as reverse transcriptase and protease, to obtain optimum therapeutic effects.
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PMID:HIV co-receptors as targets for antiviral therapy. 1513 47

The development of novel drugs active against multi-drug resistant (MDR) HIV-1 strains is urgently required. HIV protease inhibitors and reverse transcriptase inhibitors constitute two categories of important drugs, which have greatly improved the clinical treatment of HIV-infected patients by their cocktail use designated as highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). By combinatorial chemistry involving substructure units contained in known HIV protease inhibitors, we found effective protease inhibitors, TYA5 and TYB5, which showed potent anti-HIV activity even against MDR strains. Selection of drug-resistant viruses is also decreased when these new agents are tested in vitro. Subsequently, introduction of an (E)-alkene dipeptide isostere into TYB5 led to the development of a pure non-peptide protease inhibitor, TYB1. We have also studied the development of effective inhibitors for blocking HIV-entry into host cells based on recent discovery of an HIV entry mechanism involving the viral usage of chemokine receptors as coreceptors, CXCR4 and CCR5. We developed highly selective CXCR4 antagonists, T22 and T140 (18-mer and 14-mer peptides, respectively), which strongly suppress T-cell line-tropic HIV-1 (X4-HIV-1) entry through their specific binding to CXCR4. Recently, molecular-size reduction of T140 yielded low molecular weight CXCR4 antagonists, which might be more useful leads to drug-like structures. In this review, we discuss the development of two types of anti-HIV agents, protease inhibitors and CXCR4 antagonists, which would improve clinical AIDS chemotherapy.
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PMID:Two orthogonal approaches to overcome multi-drug resistant HIV-1s: development of protease inhibitors and entry inhibitors based on CXCR4 antagonists. 1518 Apr 58

Toll-like receptors (TLR) play an important role in pathogen recognition and innate immunity. We investigated the presence and function of TLRs in the BEAS-2B airway epithelial cell line and primary bronchial epithelial cells. Standard real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis and Taqman RT-PCR revealed that BEAS-2B cells express mRNA for TLR1-10. Several TLR ligands were tested for their ability to activate gene expression in BEAS-2B cells using limited microarray analyses focusing on genes of the chemokine and chemokine receptor family, cytokines, and signaling pathways. While the TLR3 ligand double-stranded RNA was the most effective epithelial activator, clear responses to flagellin, lipopolysaccharide, CpG, peptidoglycan, and zymosan were also observed. RT-PCR and/or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to confirm results obtained with microarrays for five of the induced genes: interleukin-8, serum amyloid A, TLR3, macrophage inflammatory protein-3alpha, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Stimulation of epithelial cells with double-stranded RNA induced levels of interleukin-8 exceeding 20 ng/ml and levels of serum amyloid A exceeding 80 ng/ml. Double-stranded RNA, lipopolysaccharide, zymosan A, and flagellin also induced expression of macrophage inflammatory protein-3alpha and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, which may facilitate immature dendritic cell migration and maturation. These results suggest that airway epithelial cells express several TLRs and that they are functionally active. Epithelial expression of TLRs may be of importance in inflammation and immunity in the airways in response to inhaled pathogens.
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PMID:Activation of airway epithelial cells by toll-like receptor agonists. 1519 12

The inflammatory chemokines interleukin-8, macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, are reportedly involved in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although bronchiolar epithelial cells and macrophages are known to be the cellular sources, the relative contribution of each cell type remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we first quantified cytokine mRNA in human bronchiolar epithelial cells and macrophages obtained using laser-capture microdissection and explored the relationship with early-stage COPD. Only in bronchiolar epithelial cells were interleukin-8, macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 mRNA levels higher in smokers with airflow limitation and/or emphysema than those in never-smokers or smokers without either airflow limitation or emphysema. No difference was observed in macrophages. Complementary DNA (cDNA) array further revealed the overexpression of CC chemokine receptor 2 in bronchiolar epithelial cells from smokers with airflow limitation and/or emphysema. This study supports the role of bronchiolar epithelium as the source of increased inflammatory chemokine levels in the early development of COPD and also demonstrates the potential use of laser-capture microdissection, combined with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and cDNA microarrays, to investigate functional profiles of individual structural and inflammatory cells in human lungs.
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PMID:Chemokines in bronchiolar epithelium in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 1522 Jan 36

Combination therapy with reverse transcriptase and protease inhibitors greatly reduces morbidity and mortality in HIV-1-infected individuals. However, current anti-retroviral treatment cannot eradicate the virus from infected individuals and is often limited by the emergence of drug-resistant HIV-1 strains and long-term toxicity. These problems emphasize the need to develop new anti-HIV-1 drugs targeting different steps in the viral replication cycle. HIV-1 entry into host cells represents a complex sequence of events involving several viral and cellular proteins that are potential drug targets. In particular, HIV-1 entry requires a sequential interaction of the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120 with CD4 and a co-receptor on the host cell plasma membrane. The CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) and the CXC-chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) are the primary HIV-1 co-receptors in vivo, and are attractive targets for the development of new anti-HIV-1 drugs. CCR5 and CXCR4 belong to the protein superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Many orally bioavailable small-molecules interact with specific GPCRs and many existing drugs are orally bioavailable small-molecule agonists or antagonists of GPCRs. Several small-molecule antagonists of CCR5 and CXCR4 that block chemokine binding and HIV-1 entry have been identified in recent years and are now in pre-clinical or clinical development as drug candidates. This review discusses structural and functional aspects of these compounds and summarizes recent insights into how small-molecule antagonists interact with CCR5 and CXCR4, focusing on drug development programs that are well documented in the scientific literature.
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PMID:Small-molecule antagonists of CCR5 and CXCR4: a promising new class of anti-HIV-1 drugs. 1527 44

The end of the twentieth century saw dramatic improvements in the prognosis of HIV infection brought about by the introduction of new agents (the protease inhibitors and the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) and their use in highly active combinations. However, the durability of these combination treatments is limited by a number of factors including adverse effects and extensive intra-class cross-resistance so that new antiretrovirals acting on alternative targets and having improved systemic tolerability profiles are required. The HIV binding and entry process offers several potential targets for antiviral interaction. These include gp120 binding to CD4 and to chemokine co-receptor molecules as well as the fusion process itself, which involves interactions between two leucine zipper-like 4-3 repeat regions within gp41 known as heptad repeat (HR)1 and HR2. Peptides such as enfuvirtide (formerly DP178 or T-20), that mimic the HR2 region of gp41, inhibit HIV-1 by a mechanism that is thought to involve competitive binding to HR1. This review summarises the clinical development of enfuvirtide, providing an overview of the pharmacokinetic, efficacy and safety data in various patient populations, and also considers the evidence for the key role of genotypic changes in the HR1 region (amino acids 36-45) in determining viral susceptibility to inhibition by enfuvirtide.
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PMID:HIV fusion and its inhibition in antiretroviral therapy. 1533 39

Inflammatory cytokines and infiltrating T cells are readily detected in herpes simplex virus (HSV) infected mouse cornea and trigeminal ganglia (TG) during the acute phase of infection, and certain cytokines continue to be expressed at lower levels in infected TG during the subsequent latent phase. Recent results have shown that HSV infection activates Toll-like receptor signaling. Thus, we hypothesized that chemokines may be broadly expressed at both primary sites and latent sites of HSV infection for prolonged periods of time. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymrease chain reaction (RT-PCR) to quantify expression levels of transcripts encoding chemokines and their receptors in cornea and TG following corneal infection. RNAs encoding the inflammatory-type chemokine receptors CCR1, CCR2, CCR5, and CXCR3, which are highly expressed on activated T cells, macrophages and most immature dendritic cells (DC), and the more broadly expressed CCR7, were highly expressed and strongly induced in infected cornea and TG at 3 and 10 days postinfection (dpi). Elevated levels of these RNAs persisted in both cornea and TG during the latent phase at 30 dpi. RNAs for the broadly expressed CXCR4 receptor was induced at 30 dpi but less so at 3 and 10 dpi in both cornea and TG. Transcripts for CCR3 and CCR6, receptors that are not highly expressed on activated T cells or macrophages, also appeared to be induced during acute and latent phases; however, their very low expression levels were near the limit of our detection. RNAs encoding the CCR1 and CCR5 chemokine ligands MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and RANTES, and the CCR2 ligand MCP-1 were also strongly induced and persisted in cornea and TG during the latent phase. These and other recent results argue that HSV antigens or DNA can stimulate expression of chemokines, perhaps through activation of Toll-like receptors, for long periods of time at both primary and latent sites of HSV infection. These chemokines recruit activated T cells and other immune cells, including DC, that express chemokine receptors to primary and secondary sites of infection. Prolonged activation of chemokine expression could provide mechanistic explanations for certain aspects of HSV biology and pathogenesis.
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PMID:Persistent expression of chemokine and chemokine receptor RNAs at primary and latent sites of herpes simplex virus 1 infection. 1550 26

Chemokines represent a group of small, secreted proteins mainly involved in navigating leukocytes towards site of inflammation. Some chemokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, which are characterized by an ectopic retention of leukocytes within the target organ, ultimately leading to loss of function. To determine the chemokines profile expressed in the thyroid gland upon chronic exposure to interferon-gamma (IFNgamma), we analyzed C57BL6 transgenic mice that aberrantly express IFNgamma under control of the thyroglobulin promoter. We compared by reverse transcriptase PCR the thyroidal expression of 10 chemokines (CCL1 through 5 and CXCL9 through 13) in thyr-IFNgamma transgenics and wild-type littermates. We found that transgenics exclusively expressed CCL4, CXCL9, and CXCL11, and showed increased expression of CCL5 and CXCL10. This chemokine profile was associated with moderate mononuclear cell infiltration of the thyroid stroma that, however, decreased significantly after 2 months of age and did not organize into lymphoid structures. Our findings indicate that the isolated expression of IFNgamma is capable of recruiting mononuclear cells but they do not progress to full lymphoid transformation of the thyroid.
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PMID:Early chemokine expression induced by interferon-gamma in a murine model of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. 1550 31

The branched-chain fatty acid valproate (valproic acid; VPA) displays antitumoral properties by blocking tumor growth, progression and invasion. Recent data have shown that VPA reduces the angiogenic activity of endothelial cells. The object of this study was to investigate whether endothelial modulation might also influence the level of chemotactic mediators. Endothelial cells were isolated from human umbilical cord veins (HUVEC) and treated with VPA-concentrations ranging from 0.125 mM to 1 mM. The mRNA level of CXC-chemokines was investigated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The proliferative activity of HUVEC was measured as well. VPA evoked a striking increase in the neutrophil chemoattractants CXCL1, CXCL3, CXCL4, CXCL5 and a moderate increase in CXCL6 with maximal effects after a 3-day incubation period. Other CXC-chemokines and CXC-receptors remained unaffected. HUVEC growth was diminished time- and dose-dependently by VPA. We conclude that VPA treatment leads to alterations in the chemokine expression profile of endothelial cells. This might allow more neutrophils to reach the tumor area and trigger cytolysis.
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PMID:Valproic acid induces expression of neutrophil chemoattractants of the CXC chemokine family in endothelial cells. 1551 27


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