Authors: Lin, Y. S.; Lin, C. F.; Lei, H. Y.; Liu, H. S.; Yeh, T. M.; Chen, S. H.; Liu, C. C.

Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 10, Number 2, January 2004 , pp. 213-221(9)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

Abstract:

Vascular disorders, resulting from endothelial cell dysfunction, may be caused by various stimuli, including infectious pathogens, cytotoxic reagents, and pathophysiological mechanisms mediated by immune responses. Endothelial cell dysfunction characterized by apoptosis and abnormal immune activation is, at least in part, induced by antiendothelial cell antibody (AECA) in some cases of autoimmune disease. However, the molecular mechanisms of AECAmediated pathogenetic damage to host vascular system remain unclear. The dual role of nitric oxide (NO) both in endothelial cell apoptosis and survival has been described. In this paper, endothelial cell apoptosis caused by the presence of cross-reactive AECA via a NO-mediated mechanism is demonstrated in dengue virus infection. Endothelial cells undergo apoptosis via the mitochondria-dependent pathway that is regulated by NO production. NO-regulated endothelial cell injury thus may play a role in the disruption of vessel endothelium and contribute to the AECA-induced pathogenesis of vasculopathy. The modulation of NO may provide the therapeutic strategies for autoimmune diseases by preventing the AECA-mediated endothelial cell damage.

Keywords: anti-endothelial cell antibody; apoptosis; nitric oxide

Document Type: Review article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612043453469

Affiliations: 1: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, 1 University Road, Tainan 701, Taiwan, Republic of China.

Publication date: 2004-01-01

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• Current Pharmaceutical Design publishes timely in-depth reviews covering all aspects of current research in rational drug design. Each issue is devoted to a single major therapeutic area. A Guest Editor who is an acknowledged authority in a therapeutic field has solicits for each issue comprehensive and timely reviews from leading researchers in the pharmaceutical industry and academia.
  
  Each thematic issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design covers all subject areas of major importance to modern drug design, including: medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug targets and disease mechanism.

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